


Crown of Dreams

by Thespurgin



Category: Campione!, Sword Art Online
Genre: Action/Adventure, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Gen, Multi, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2014-09-10
Packaged: 2018-02-21 10:32:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 34,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2465042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thespurgin/pseuds/Thespurgin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kayaba Akihiko was no man, but a heretic god. In killing him, Kirito saved the lives of thousands, but that was not all his impossible act began. A divine ritual of adoption, paid for by the sacrifice of a god. The illegitimate offspring of the fool and she who brought hope and woe to the world. That day heralded the birth of a Supreme Devil King; a Campione.</p>
<p>Please note that further characters, relationships, and tags will be specified as they appear.</p>
<p>Cross-posted on <a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9880146/1/Crown-of-Dreams">fanfiction.net</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Well, no SAO or Campione! ownership for me. This is just the child of my twisted mind, and I love it regardless of who it's parents were.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: Well, no SAO or Campione! ownership for me. This is just the child of my twisted mind, and I love it regardless of who it's parents were.

Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Kirigaya Kazuto, AKA Kirito the Black Swordsman of Aincrad, slumped in exhaustion. He couldn't find the energy to stand, so he just sat back to back with his wife, Asuna. Around them lay the remains of a force of some forty brave men and women, all that was left in the wake of a vicious battle with the boss of the seventy-fifth floor dungeon, a massive skeletal monster known only as the Skull Reaper. He'd never felt so tired. It was as if every nerve in his body had gone numb rather than continue operating under the stress they'd just weathered, and his thoughts began to drift. It was amazing how lifelike it was… this virtual world of Aincrad.

* * *

Aincrad Online, the first total immersion VRMMO ever created. A game truly in another world from its competition, and that could be taken literally as much as figuratively. An MMO so immersive that once you logged on, you saw, smelt, felt and heard everything as if they were really there… well, minus a few obvious things to keep the real world and its own distinguishable that was. Truly, the game could only be described as the magnum opus of its creator, Kayaba Akihiko. The day the game was released, all ten thousand players thought they were the luckiest people in the world.

Kami how wrong they'd been.

At first, the game was just as they'd imagined. Before them lay an entire world, a floating castle of one hundred levels of adventure before them, monsters to slay and bosses to fight. Sure, the logout button was missing on the screen, but on the game's first day there were bound to be a couple bugs. The GMs would have it solved before dinner time; at least, that was what he and Klein — a new player that he had been roped into showing the basics to — thought.

Then Kayaba summoned everyone to town of beginnings, and with but a single speech their world was turned on its head. Aincrad Online was a game no more. If you died in Aincrad, you died for real. There was no coming back, and no chance of rescue from the outside. The only way to get back to the real world was to beat the game by beating each dungeon and unlocking the subsequent floors until the final boss on level one hundred was slain, at which point anyone still alive would be automatically logged out. With that said, Kayaba Akihiko vanished, and the deathgame began.

That was over two years ago. Almost four thousand people have died since then, and by some miracle, they'd managed to clear seventy-four of the one-hundred floors, mostly thanks to the work of the hardcore clearing guilds like the Knights of Blood and the Aincrad Liberation Front, along with a number of smaller guilds and solo players, of which he himself was one.

He was a loner for the most part, having moved to the next town from the starting village immediately after Kayaba's announcement. It was a logical move really. There were ten thousand people in the town of beginnings and the mobs you could farm around there would be exhausted and stretched ridiculously thin as soon as people started using them. There wouldn't be anyone moving to the next village so quickly, so he had an entire region to farm on his own.

He'd originally met Asuna at a meeting regarding the first floor dungeon, where she'd sat alone and shrouded by a cloak that concealed her features. When the meeting's leader Diabel called for everyone to form into parties of six for the assault on the boss, she and Kirito had agreed to do so as fellow solo players. The only thing he knew at that time was her game name… Asuna.

In the battle with Illfang, the boss of the first floor dungeon, she'd shown surprising skill. Yet in spite of that she'd never partied before and had no basic concept of squad tactics. They fit well together, as it were. Everything went as planned until they'd gotten the boss into the red of his last HP bar. Instead of the predicted weapon he was supposed to switch to, the boss had drawn a totally different weapon and caught Diabel totally unprepared. Even with Kirito's warning, there was no way to save Diabel. When Kibou's accusation threatened to divide the group and kill any future chance of beating the game, Kirito shouldered the burden of hate himself and moved on to the next floor. When he left, the last thing he saw was Asuna's smile.

It was some time before he saw Asuna again. She'd joined the clearing guilds and risen through the ranks to become second in command of the Knights of Blood, Heathcliff's guild. They'd often met during boss raid planning sessions and during the boss raids themselves. She'd turned into a cold, merciless badass since then, and it took a murder mystery to make them see eye-to-eye, and several shared brushes with death to get close. Eventually though, they ended up deciding to party together, and fell in love. He swore to get Asuna back to the real world, and an in-game marriage seemed only natural after that.

Kirito's thoughts then drifted to the boss they'd just beaten. The seventy-fifth floor dungeon boss; Skull Reaper…

It is a commonly acknowledged aspect of any RPG game that with each floor of the game, the bosses always get tougher. Casualties during boss fights are practically a given. However, in Aincrad Online players banded together and used intel and advanced tactics to keep everyone alive. The clearing guilds couldn't afford to lose anyone, not only because leveling up in Aincrad was such a time consuming process or because of the limited number of players that existed in the game, but because a death here was final. It was due to this incredible planning and coordination that the assault team hadn't lost a man in a boss fight since the 67th floor.

Granted, the previous floor boss had broken that record with several casualties from the party of ALF guild members who rushed in to engage it without intel, but that was a poor point. It could have been worse. It was the party leader's own foolishness that led them into that situation, and they engaged with far to few players at less than optimum strength. They would have been slaughtered if Kirito, Asuna, and Klein's guild hadn't intervened.

With the seventy-fifth floor boss, the assigned recon team, two squads consisting of ten men apiece, were separated when the first half entered the boss room and the door shut behind them. Five minutes later, the doors reopened but the entire team, and the boss, had disappeared. No evidence, no survivors, nothing. How could they move on a boss with no intel?

Even so, the combined forces of the clearing guilds had little choice. Thousands of people were on the lower levels hoping for escape and freedom from this death world, and those hopes rested squarely on the shoulders of the clearers. What's more, they were running out of time. Sure Kayaba made an incredible world, but for all his genius he couldn't hope to freeze their physical bodies in time. Even now, those players still alive were laying in hospitals, imprisoned in this world while their bodies atrophied in the real one. Give it another year, and they'd be dead anyway.

In the end, Heathcliff organized a team of the best from all the clearers to face the unidentified boss down. It was strange how he willingly sacrificed a Corridor Crystal though… those things are so rare you could buy a mansion in one of the better floors for what one cost to acquire. For a guild leader to use something so valuable just to get to the boss chamber more quickly was unusual, especially in the unflappable grey-haired templar's case. Granted, it made sense to save the bossraid's strength for the boss himself, but there was a difference between that and spending a vanishingly rare item to cut the travel time to the boss away.

Did the K.o.B.'s leader suspect that this boss had a crystal-neutralizing effect? In hindsight, it made sense, what with the previous floor's boss, Gleam Eyes, having the same thing woven into his boss room. Kirito knew all to well how dangerous such areas were as well, having been witness to the near annihilation of an entire squad of the Aincrad Liberation Front (ALF) at the last boss's hands.

"How many did we lose?" someone mumbled, pulling Kirito out of his daze. That was Klein's voice. Kirito opened his menu to check, and his expression fell.

"Fourteen."

Soft gasps filled the chamber, followed by murmurs that made all to obvious the undercurrent of distress and horror the survivors shouldered.

"No way…"

"We still have twenty-five floors."

"Will we really be able to reach the top?…"

As feeling slowly began to creep back into his limbs, Kirito looked around and his eyes fell upon _that man_. Heathcliff; the founder and leader of the Knights of Blood, the player possessing the unique skill {Holy Light}. Legend was his HP never fell into the red zone, that he was invincible. But something was off about him. He was still standing, almost like a statue carved of flesh rather than a human being. How could any man take on a monster like that and remain so impassive…? Even now, after fighting an opponent so strong that a single blow could wipe out another player's HP in an instant, his HP wasn't even in the yellow zone. Heathcliff the immortal…

Kirito himself could attest to the worthiness of the title, having faced the templar in a duel himself. The man was a devastating opponent with his sword and shield, and when Kirito'd gained the advantage and moved to strike the deciding blow, Heathcliff had somehow managed too move so fast the system couldn't display his motion. Even now, it baffled him how the gray-haired commander had done that. It was as if — the black clad swordsman tensed. As if the system itself was helping him. Moving him faster than he could do alone, never letting him be injured, never letting a significant damage get him. It all made sense now. How could it have taken him this long to see it?!

Kirito's softly pulled his fingers around the hilt of Elucidator, rising into a crouch. Asuna shifted at the motion. "Neh? Kirito-kun?"

Without another word, he exploded into motion, flying across the room faster than anyone could react. Elucidator shone cyan with the power of a sword skill. Heathcliff twisted, a momentary flash of surprise appeared on his face and Kirito smiled inside. That was twice he'd broken that false face of his.

Savoring the victory would have to wait though, as the crimson armored form brought his shield up to parry. Too bad he'd expected this though. At the last second, Kirito kicked off the ground and angled his body upwards, directing the attack over the taller man's shield and straight to his head.

It didn't hit, or to be more specific, it didn't hit Heathcliff. Instead, a translucent purple hexagon appeared in the path of his blade, stopping him cold along with it. Kirito just smirked, unconcerned with the fact that he'd just attacked a fellow player or that his wife was running up behind him. All that mattered was the damning script on that wonderful little polygon, {Immortal Object}.

"I-Immortal Object?" Asuna whispered, stopping cold at the sight. "What's going on commander?"

"The system ensures that his HP will never fall into the yellow zone." Kirito replied flatly, stepping back. "Something has always bothered me, ever since I arrived here…"

Everyone was silent as he stared distantly at the patterns on the ceiling. Was it exhaustion that held their tongues, or shock? It mattered little now.

"Where does he hide while he watches us and adjusts the world? I wondered, but I'd forgotten a simple piece of psychology, something any kid knows…"

Kirito's smile was a mixture of victory and something predatory, like a shark smelling blood in the water. "There's nothing as boring as watching someone else play an RPG. Isn't that right, _Kayaba Akihiko?_ "

The sharp hisses echoed through the room as people inhaled at the accusation. In spite of this, the man's impassive demeanor remained. No shock, not surprise, no reaction at all. For a long moment he was silent, then he spoke.

"Would you be so kind as to tell me how you figured it out?"

"The first time I felt something was wrong was during our duel. In that last instant, you were far to fast."

Heathcliff, no — Kayaba Akihiko, nodded in agreement.

"I suspected as much. That _was_  an unfortunate mistake. You overpowered me to the point that I needed to activate the system's over-assist mode."

Absently, the gray-haired man noticed the pleading looks of those players around him. Looks begging him to say that it was a lie and denounce his attacker… but he didn't. The man just shook his head mournfully and looked around.

"Yes, I am Kayaba Akihiko; and if I may add, I am the game's final boss, who would have awaited you at the top floor."

Amidst the gasps of those present, Kirito's voice tinged with disgust. "That's pretty bad; the strongest player betrays us to become the last boss?"

"Fitting isn't it? Humanity is capable of both great good and great evil. As they say, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Thus, it only made sense for the strongest player them Aincrad to then turn on his allies in the search for more power. Not a bad storyline if I do say so myself, though there is an inherent flaw…

"Oh yeah, and what might that be Kayaba?"

The gray-haired man's face cracked a faint smile.

"Well, there's the fact that I'm not human, for one."

There was silence for a long moment as that set in.

"Sorry Heathcliff," Kirito said finally "but somehow I find it hard to believe you're an NPC."

"Ah, but I never claimed to be an NPC Kirito." He replied, an amused tone slipping into his voice. "With limits I placed on this world's programing, that would hardly be possible. No, I am far beyond any digital construct or AI, yet neither am I a mere human."

"Alright then, I'll bite. What are you?"

"Surely you've noticed by now? As a Beta Tester, you would have known that the graphical capacity of Aincrad Online was perfect, capable of operating into the finest details. Cuts bled, foods tasted, and you could feel and touch everything as if it was real… yet as the beta progressed these things changed, and the official release reduced most of these things drastically. Did you not wonder why that was?"

Everyone was silent at these revelations, though Kirito's eyes widened in realization. "The beta testers assumed that they were quality experiments to test the outer limits of the system, and that those limits were altered to handle higher server traffic with the release."

"As I intended them to think. No, the truth is something far deeper; a much greater revelation. You all believed that this game's graphical quality was reduced to streamline service to a larger group, but in reality this game, Sword Art Online, is brutally far beyond anything humanity has ever possessed. Even with all their technological prowess, it was only my personal involvement in the project that allowed for the creation of a true VRMMO. Didn't you ever wonder when you first stepped into this world if this was really the work of human hands? Didn't you imagine at one point that this place was the work of something — or someone — greater?"

"Something beyond this world, beyond nature." Kirito whispered softly. "Not simply ridiculously advanced, but utterly beyond the scope of our power to grasp and control. A world formed from information alone, yet so incredibly detailed it seemed less a simulation than a world in it's own right…"

"Yes. You begin to understand now, don't you Kirito? I am afraid that I am not, and never was human. Kayaba Akihiko was a lie. A mask no different from that of this avatar, Heathcliff. Deceptions yes, but necessary to evade those annoying Campione that would face me for no reason other than to claim the power I hold. Allow me to truly introduce myself!" he said, half-bowing.

"Greetings. I am Morpheus."

Silence, then the peanut gallery chimed in.

"Morpheus?"

"The guy from the Matrix?"

"Morpheus, as in the Grecian god of Dreams?" Kirito said softly, a grimace coming over his face at the image.

He'd payed attention in history class sometimes… and one of the previous MMOs he'd played drew heavily on greek mythology. It was only natural that some of it hang about in his head afterwards, but he never expected to have it end up being useful. Chekov's Gun indeed…

"Oh? I wasn't aware you knew of my legend Kirito."

"Leftovers from an MMO I played." Kirito shrugged "Greek mythology played a major aspect, and some of it sank in."

"I see…"

"That's BS man!" Klein shouted. "You expect me to believe that the guy who made SAO is really a god?"

"I have to admit, it is a bit far fetched…" Asuna murmured, "I mean, if you're a god why make a videogame for all of this?" to which Kayaba chuckled.

"Indeed, it is rather unbelievable isn't it? Why would a god of dreams limit himself to human form? Why would Morpheus create a VRMMO? Why would he make that MMO into a deathgame?" Silence answered him, and the gray haired man shook his head, suddenly looking forlorn. "Many times I have asked myself these questions, but in truth I cannot remember. I once used to know, but now… nothing. Nothing remains of my reasons beyond my desire to make a realm totally my own, a world in which I am the supreme entity, where I answer to no one! Not Zeus, not man, not titan, no one! To realize my dream of a castle floating in the sky! Here, in this world, this shared dream, I am god!"

He sighed, his lips curling up into a slight snarl, and smirked grudgingly. "But alas, for I laid the foundations of this world too well. My dear daughter Cardinal oversaw the world perfectly, just as if it was a videogame as I'd intended. There was no need of me to play god, for my dear daughter was already god, albeit bound by the rules I'd originally written. Even if I'd wanted to supplant such a perfect cornerstone to my world… how could I move against my own daughter?

Instead, I chose to become the weaver of fate. Every world has a story after all, and stories require heroes and villains; protagonists and antagonists. It seemed fitting, so I chose to play not the part of god, but the part of the villain. I modified the code of the world to classify me as the boss of the one-hundredth floor, but only on my command. Until then, I assumed human form I'd prepared and led the charge on the forces of my daughter.

Such would my plans progress with me, under the guise of Heathcliff, directing and inspiring the players to push ahead; all the time with none of them knowing that he who chained them to this place was the very one they looked to for hope. None of them even guessed that their jailer was the one leading the prison riot!"

"You lied to us… all this time?-" Someone, one of Heathcliff's guild members undoubtedly, whispered in rage and horror.

"Ironically, no." Was Kayaba/Morpheus's quicksilver response. "Oh I deceived you certainly, but never once did I have to lie. A few modest omissions, the appearance of another as is within my power as the god of dreams, and supposedly unquestionable behavior, and no one even got suspicious. Kind of pathetic really."

"You… You took our loyalty and our hope… How _dare_  you…"

"Be quiet now, the main characters are talking." Kayaba interrupted, eying the offender for a moment before deftly opening his menu and tapping a hidden icon. Almost instantly, the rising figure of the man who had shouted seized up and fell like a rag doll. More taps, and others slumped. Asuna gasped as the very same effect smote her too, but Kirito caught her and glared at the false savior. In moments, all but two were limp on the ground: Kirito the Black Swordsman of Aincrad, and Akihiko Kayaba.

"Well, I suppose it's not fair to say that _no_  one developed suspicions, isn't that right, Kirito… or do you prefer Kazuto Kirigaya?"

Kirito's hissed breath must have been exactly the kind of reaction Kayaba wanted, because his face momentarily broke into a rictus grin.

"Oh? It should hardly be a surprise that I know your real name Kirigaya-kun."

"Yeah… as the creator of the game, you'd have the resources to track the real names of everyone in the game if you wanted. With only ten thousand copies released, it would be to easy."

"Indeed."

There was a moment of silence.

"So what now Kayaba? Will you kill us all to keep your secret, and return with the sorrowful tale of a victory with a cost all to high? Is that what you plan on doing to keep your secret safe?" Kirito ground out, setting Asuna to the floor and standing accusingly between them.

If Kayaba felt anything from the accusation, his face didn't show it. That didn't stop an undertone of amusement from trickling into his voice, however.

"Why Kirito, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you thought me a monster."

"I know that whatever you are or were, you aren't human anymore. You call yourself god, but all I see is a sick, twisted man. You lead the people you've imprisoned in this world into greater and greater peril, suffering, and death for your own amusement. For the fulfillment of a goal you cannot even remember! Yes, I call you monster, and worse."

"A monster am I?" Kayaba said softly. "To answer your question however; no, I will not kill you. Rather, I will reward you for inciting this unforeseen turn of events and for deducing my identity so far in advance of what I had planned. It seems that once again I have underestimated you, Kirito. Though, I suppose it is only natural that the anomaly in my plans would be you. I always expected you'd be the one I'd face in the end, after all."

"What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm surprised you didn't figure it out already. Who better to battle the final boss than one with a power none other possessed; a power gained through effort and sheer force of will? When I fought you in that duel, any doubts I had were removed.

"Dual Blades…"

"Yes Kirito. Your unique skill, {Dual Blades}, is given only to the player with the fastest reaction times, a trait improved only via sheer force of will and arduous trials, though granted some people are naturally at an advantage over others due to various factors like heritage and prior training. The skill is also a mark of distinction, as the player possessing it will act out the role of the hero that faces the demon king in the final battle."

"So all this time we've been fated to fight each other… I suppose I should be surprised, but considering what I've heard in the past few minutes, this is nothing. So…" he continued, holding the black blade {Elucidator} up in a ready stance "What now?"

"Now, Kirito, I give you a chance."

"A chance?"

"A chance to stop this all, right now. A chance to end the game, save the lives of all the players still alive, and make me pay for my supposed 'sins'. All you have to do is fight me, now. One-on-one, and win. The game will be cleared. In honor of your nature as a worthy opponent, I'll even remove my immortality from play. However, you will face me at my full strength, with all the strength of the final boss and the the divinity I carry, short of immortality."

A horrified silence pervaded the assembled, but Kayaba just smirked.

"Tell me, Kirito… do you think you can kill God?"

"You're no God." Kirito snarled. "You're a monster. A heretical aberration. If god exists, then you are an affront to him. Call yourself what you will, but know this. I _will_  defeat you."

Kayaba's smirk vanished. "Well said Kirito, but that doesn't answer my question… will you face me, or not?"

A deft flick, and the duel invitation appeared before them. Kirito regarded it for moment, but Asuna's voice broke into his thoughts.

"No Kirito-kun. For now… for now we should fall back. "

Silently, Kirito stood, ignoring Asuna's cries as others joined the chorus.

"Don't be a fool Kirito!"

"There's no way you can beat him right now Kirito! He's the final boss! Even you can't beat him alone!"

"You don't have to prove anything!"

"Shut up!"

At Kirito's shout, everyone fell silent. The black haired boy quivered, every fiber of his muscles taught at a rope. "I know that. I know I probably won't win. I know that this is probably suicide." he said softly "But even so… to think that I would-"

"No Kirito! You don't have to throw away your life like this! We can still-"

"Still what, Asuna?" he interrupted sadly. "Fight through another twenty-four floors of this? The bosses will only get tougher, and more of us will die. What's more, that will take time. Time we do not have. You said it yourself Asuna. The longer we are in this world, the more our bodies deteriorate in the real world. It's only a matter of time before we die, with or without the game's death penalty. At best, we probably only have a few more months. Those who got into the best clinics might have a bit longer, but not enough to make much of a difference. Some of the older people will die even sooner. I can't let that happen, Asuna. I won't."

His gaze moved to Kayaba, his mouth set in a firm line.

"I accept."

"Kirito, think for a minute!" Klein barked.

"…"

"It's still a chance Kirito! There's no point in taking him on right now! You don't have to do this. Don't take such a risk!"

"Don't insult me." he whispered, yet his voice carried to the entire chamber. "Diabel, Sachi and the Black Cats, Colbert and the ALF soldiers, Godfree, Yui-! They're dead. Dead because I wasn't strong enough. Because I **failed**. Because I didn't take _enough_  chances. If I back down here… every player who dies from now on will be my fault, because I didn't take this chance. I refuse to carry any more lives on my conscience!"

"Kirito…"

"I'm sorry Asuna, but I can't back down from this. I can't run away and ignore the lives that it will cost. I made you a promise didn't I? I swore I'd get you home."

"You aren't going to die here, right Kirito?"

"I'll win. I promise you." he replied, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead, and placing her limp hands on her chest.

"Alright…" she whispered.

Without another word, Kirito walked towards his opponent, drawing {Elucidator} and {Dark Repulser} smoothly as he did.

"Kirito!"

"Don't do it Kirito!"

He stopped, looking over his shoulder with a sad smile at the two people who'd spoken in turn. "Egil… I'd like to thank you for supporting the swordsman class. I know you spent most of the money you made in your shop helping mid-level players to level up safely."

"What? How… how did you…?"

"Klein," Kirito continued, "I really am sorry for leaving you behind that day."

"Damnit Kirito!" Klein howled "Don't apologize to me now! I won't accept it! I won't forgive you until we share a meal on the other side! Do you hear me, Kirito!"

He smiled faintly. "Got it. I'll see you there okay? Tell Argo she still owes me 50 for that info on the Gleam Eyes alright?"

Klein managed a weak nod, and Kirito's gaze turned to Asuna… then he turned to Kayaba.

"Forgive me, but before we begin, I have a request."

"Oh? What?"

"I have no intention of losing, but if I fail, I want you to make sure that Asuna can't kill herself, if only for a time. What will it cost me to assure that from you?"

"You ask that as if no price is too high. So you love her that much then…?"

"Yes."

The man known as Kayaba Akihiko smiled faintly. "Hera would be crying tears of joy at your fidelity. Yours is indeed a love of sacrifice. I can see in your eye that you would give anything for her, Kirito. Very well. I will honor your request."

"Kirito no! Please don't do that! You can't-! You can't do that!"

But he did not answer her. His gaze was locked on Kayaba who, true to his word, deactivated his immortality effect and reopened the duel challenge menu.

They pressed their respective buttons, and took their stances. The countdown began. As it ticked, Kirito's thoughts raced.

10…

'Whatever Kayaba thinks he is, it can't be denied that he is the creator of this game. As such, he knows the intimate details of all the sword skills, including {Dual Blades}.'

9…

'All sword skills have a cooldown period right after use which leaves the user open to attack.'

8…

'That means that if I try to use any sword skills on him, he'll be able to counter them perfectly and use the cooldown to land a blow.'

7…

'With his skill and level being so high, one chance is all he'd need to finish me off, so I can't risk using any sword skills in this fight, or I'm done for…'

6…

'I guess there's no choice then. I'll just have to fight him without them, but what if he has any other surprises waiting?'

5…

'Logically, if he based abilities on those of Morpheus, then he'll be a human-type shapeshifter, and since Morpheus's true form was that of a winged demon he'd have wings to fly around with.'

4…

'This is bad. His defense is incredible with that shield, and that sword of his is equal to either of mine. If he can fly too, there's no way I'll be able to catch him with my throwing picks.'

3…

'Grr! don't think about it. If he does have some kind of ace in the hole, then I can't give him the opportunity to use it!'

2…

'Even if I am a fool for facing him alone; for challenging the God of this world…'

1…

'I swear that I will beat him!'

0.

{Duel Commence!}


	2. A Nightmare Ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: As before, I decry and reject all possible claims of ownership upon the intellectual materials of SAO and Campione!
> 
> I will say that this chapter is something I am immensely proud of though.
> 
> Please note that for this chapter, Akihiko, Kayaba, and Morpheus all mean the same person. I'm just trying to get more variance in words to keep it from becoming monotonous.
> 
> Do enjoy. Author's Notes are at the bottom.
> 
> Update! Try out our new crazy-genius Kayaba 2.0! Much better than that outdated boring psychopath Mark 1 model!

In England it was dark, the moon hanging over the lapping waves of the ocean on the beach. Tranquil is the only word that could be used to describe it, and indeed the vast expanse of the island nation did seem almost unnaturally peaceful… but in one residence that peace was absent.

In her bed, a frail maiden of platinum-blonde hair flinched in her sleep, sensing as only a hime-miko* can the ripples in the spiritual plain. Even asleep, she could feel what others never could, and in that moment Alice Louise, the highest witch of the heavens gasped and awoke with a start, the outcry of power reaching her even from the far side of the world itself.

She shuddered, chilled by the power she'd touched as if drenched in a bucket of icewater, then looked out her window.

"An eighth?…"

* * *

It was black.

Darkness as far as the eye could see.

There was no sensation of substance beneath, him yet he felt himself lying flat as if on a grassy field.

These were the things Kirito noticed in the initial moments after his senses began to make sense again. A breeze ruffled his unruly black hair, and as it flickered across his eyelashes, he absently realized his eyes were closed. Opening them slowly, a misty white abyss filled his vision.

"Shouldn't I have logged out?" He wondered aloud.

He attempted to turn his head, but found that aside from his head — and he couldn't move that either — he couldn't really feel anything.

"Total emptiness… a system crash?" he whispered to himself. He didn't care. He was tired, and just wanted to sleep. It was quiet here, and the soft breeze felt nice. For the moment that was enough. Exhaling softly in satisfaction, he closed his eyes and drifted off again.

* * *

When he drifted back into consciousness, nothing was different. Nothing but an endless whiteness stretched as far as his eyes could see, and he remained as numb as before.

"The same as before, huh…?" he whispered.

"Yes."

Kirito twitched. The voice was everywhere and nowhere at the same time, like a whisper carried on the breeze. He couldn't tell if it came from a person, or if it was merely an auditory effect from an AI or some such, but if the system had really crashed it wouldn't have been able to produce any such stimuli. It wouldn't have had the programing… So maybe the system didn't crash. But if the system didn't crash and he wasn't in Aincrad Online then…

"Where am I?"

"The Netherworld;" a soft, feminine voice answered "the land bordering the domains of the dead and the living."

"The Netherworld huh?… I guess I died after all?"

Silence answered him, and he sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry Asuna, sorry that I didn't make it back to the real world with you…" he mumbled to himself, then managed to crack a bittersweet smile. It felt like his face was made of thick, heavy clay. "I failed you. I promised I'd get you back to the real world, and I failed. I'm so sorry Asuna…" he whispered. "I can't ask you to forgive me, but want you to know that I kept the promise I made when I fought him. I promised that I would win. I did. I saved everyone."

"Yes, you did indeed Kirigaya-Kun."

This time, the voice came from one place, not all around. In fact, it came from directly behind his head.

Kirito started… or as best you can start when you can't move any muscles beyond your eyes and mouth. His eyes roamed frantically, trying to catch the source, but it was no use. Suddenly, a face hung over his, young and childish; a girl's face bearing green eyes of a singularly unique, almost olive green-hued. She was dressed in a very simple white dress, perhaps a smock of some kind, bordered with gray or a very dull silver. Yet neither her eyes or her dress could compare to her hair.

Sweet Kami her hair; it was safe to say that he'd never seen such a shade of pink — or was it lavender? — let alone such a shade on hair so long. It split into a pair of straight pigtails behind her ears and flowed down to the ground around his head. Even the roots were that striking hue, and that made it painfully obvious that the color was natural. It was impossible. It was almost enough to make him believe he was still in Aincrad Online, before the plaza summons and the mirror which displayed their real faces.

Disoriented by the sudden appearance of the girl, Kirito's brain momentarily shorted. Normally, this would be of no consequence. He wasn't one prone to talk in any case. Unfortunately that meant that the only thing he could utter was a bland:

"You know my name."

The girl with the impossibly hued hair giggled and nodded with a faint smile.

"I do. How could I not, after the events you have set in motion?"

"…I set in…?" he repeated dubiously.

"You do not remember?"

"Not really." He admitted "I assume you're talking about Kayaba?"

At her nod, he continued with a slight, thoughtful frown.

"I know I beat him, somehow, but I'm here in the netherworld so I must have died myself. I remember the conversation leading up to the fight and the conversations after it, but the battle… everything gets fuzzy after the duel timer went off."

"I see…"

There was a pause for a long moment, then the girl shifted into a seiza* pose and pulled Kirito's head into her lap. Kirito, of course, couldn't really resist what with still being numb, though he did mumble protests.

"Then I will have to help you remember, won't I? I can't very well complete the ritual with someone who cannot even remember their first victory can I?"

"What are you-?"

Whatever Kirito was going to say, it was lost as the girl placed a finger on his forehead.

"By my authority as she who released hope and evil to this world, the witch who opened the box, I unlock this now. Memories of hope, memories of despair, divinity calls you, and you must answer. Kirigaya Kazuto, _remember._ "

With that final word, his world vomited light.

* * *

{Duel Commence!}

As the air pinged in confirmation of the Duel's beginning, Kirito threw himself into a charge, thrusting forwards with {Elucidator} in his right. Kayaba saw it coming, and parried with his shield at an angle to deflect the force of the strike past him.

Just as Kirito planned.

Twisting, Kirito rode the motion of his deflected lunge into a spin and pivoted as he moved past. {Dark Repulsor}'s extra weight was enough to throw Kayaba's shield away from his main body, forcing the gray haired man to spin as well so his back faced Kirito. In that instant, {Elucidator} scythed around in an aftershock to the blue widesword, straight towards the small of Kayaba's back.

A flash of metal, a clang of meeting blades; Kirito's eyes widened momentarily, then narrowed at the sight of Kayaba holding his sword over his shoulder and behind his back, parrying Kirito's own. "You're surprisingly flexible for someone as old as you appear to be." He remarked, hopping back as the his opponent broke the lock with a flourish and spun to bring them face to face again. "Stronger than I would have expected too, if I hadn't seen you block blows that have OHK'd other players with that shield of yours."

Kayaba smirked in response. "And you're smarter than I remember from our previous duel, Kirito. You're avoiding sword skills because you know I designed the system and thus know the weakpoints, I presume?"

"Was it that obvious?" Kirito asked, closing the distance and starting a chain of fierce and unpredictable strikes to keep his foe off balance.

"Consider my identity if you will, Kirigaya-Kun" Kayaba replied, smoothly parrying or evading each of the successive blows with an aplomb that seemed almost casual. "As Morpheus, I am the God of Dreams. Aincrad itself is little more than a great, shared dream gilded with human technology, so taken together this entire world is my realm! This entire universe is one giant, massive dream you all share, and I am the dreamer! The ground upon which you tread is at my beck and call! Everything in this world is within my sight with but a thought, and I have payed _special_  attention to you above all since our duel. And attentions bearing the power of my authority, that which you could call {Dream Walker}, well…" Here, he smiled with an eerie grin "I must admit, your dreams proved most interesting indeed… especially those dreams dealing with your past."

Kirito hissed as he involuntarily sucked in a breath, hesitating just long enough for Kayaba to get a precise slash in, and thus forcing the younger swordsman to catch it with both his blades. Kayaba leaned in, looming over his opponent. The light, reflected off their respective weapons, cast his visage into a macabre light.

"A shame about your parents Kirigaya-kun. To die and leave their son alone like that? Sure, you had your aunt and uncle, to say nothing of your cousin, but no matter how deeply they acted it, they weren't your real parents; your real family."

"Shut up." Kirito hissed, seething in fury.

"But then again," Kayaba continued, almost monologuing if not for the slight inflection in his voice "if it weren't for their deaths, you wouldn't have isolated yourself from others and grown so incredibly strong, would you?"

"I said shut up!" The dual-wielding teen snapped and overreached, pressing harder as if additional force would forestall his foe's cutting words. It was a mistake. The lock was broken, followed shortly by Kirito catching a sweeping blow from the red-armored faux paladin's shield in the abdomen, which bludgeoned him back several paces. They paused, assessing their opponent again and waiting for an opening.

A chill swept through the assembled witnesses as they watched, practically frozen in time. Was it Kayaba's callous demeanor; the dispassionate discussion and revelation of Kirito's lost parentage; or was it the fight itself? Was the scene before their eyes so foreign to what they had expected, so visceral and real in this fake world, that it stunned them into silence?

"No, I think not." He said after a long pause, a sad smile growing on his face. "In the end, your parents' sacrifice was the catalyst. The first stroke on the canvas. In the end, Kazuto Kirigaya," he chuckled "You are nothing if not a living work of art; a portrait in blood and tears. Fitting for the protagonist of this great drama, isn't it?"

The ringing of steel on steel sounded again as Kirito charged, opening this second volley with a fierce diagonal slash from {Dark Repulsor}, only to meet the false paladin's shield again.

"To think!" Kayaba barked as he caught the followup strike from {Elucidator} on his longsword and parried it away, a mad light in his eyes "If this is the result of the loss of your parents, how much more powerful would you become if you lost more?"

Kirito responded with a snarl, redoubling his pace and batting an errant lunge from his foe's sword aside with a contemptuous swipe.

"Perhaps the Samurai, or that adorable little blacksmith that made you {Dark Repulsor}?" In the background, Klein paled, as did Asuna; she'd introduced Kirito to Lizbeth in the first place!

Kayaba caught the return lunge and redirected it along the face of his shield, then turned that into a horizontal bash with the same motion. Kirito did the only thing he could think of, he fell. Literally dropping backwards into a roll and coming up on one knee, only to redirect a downwards slash from Akihiko's blade to his left with his own swords in a shriek of metal against metal.

"Don't you dare touch them!" He yelled, riding the rebound of the blow sideways and into a midair cartwheel. Taking advantage of the momentary opening in his opponent's defense, he snapped off a sharp midair kick with his right leg even as the motion carried him upside down. Surprisingly enough, the blow caught the crimson paladin off guard and connected with his jaw, snapping his head around audibly. A modest dent appeared in his foe's HP bar, and Kirito allowed himself a predatory grin. He'd managed to land a solid blow on the creator of this world himself.

Kirito's moment of victory was short lived however, as only his insane reflexes saved him from Kayaba's retribution, which came in the form of a savage shield bash that required the boy to practically contort himself to avoid.

Their respective momentums expended, Kirito and Kayaba twisted and hurled themselves at each other again, each trying to take advantage of the opening in the other's defenses. Kirito parried away an unnervingly close lunge, while Kayaba was forced to cancel his intended follow-up with a shield bash to deflect the staggered diagonal slashes Kirito hurled out in reply.

"That's it? that's the best you can do?" he laughed, catching a second pair of diagonal slashes with his shield before bull rushing his smaller opponent off his feet. {Elucidator} clattered against the floorstones, flung from the raven-haired boy's grip by the angle of the shield's impact, and Kayaba towered over him, a vaguely underwhelmed expression clouding his face. "Though on the subject of your friends' longevity, it's not like there's anything you could do if I did go after them. You **would**  be dead after all." At Kirito's seething expression he shrugged, quirking one eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that, it's your fault after all. You're the one who failed to include them in our negotiations." he sighed. "I must say I'm disappointed Kirito. I expected so much more from the supposed 'Black Swordsman of Aincrad.' You showed such promise in our last duel, and now when everyone's lives are on the line you disappoint? You're supposed to be the hero you know, not the jester."

"Stop profiling me damn it!"

Kirito spun and a gleam of golden light flashed. And for all his power, even Morpheus, trapped by the limitations of his current form and the rules of the game, couldn't see, process, and evade the blow in the fraction of a second it took for Kirito's already sweeping leg, further accelerated by the completely unanticipated use of the Unarmed Sword Skill {Flash Hit} granted by the {Martial Arts} Extra Skill, to crack wickedly into the back and side of the taller man's ankle.

Akihiko Kayaba, Incarnate of the Greek deity Morpheus and God and Genesis of Aincrad, toppled in a thunderous clattering of metal.

Kirito wasted no time rolling to his feet and grabbing {Dark Repulsor}, which he'd released to use his unarmed skill, before sweeping his now glowing widesword in an half-instinctive {Horizontal} at the rising templar's head, something the twisted man barely prevented from being fatal with an unconscious jerk of his head, as he backpedaled away.

The crimson paladin hissed, lashing out blindly with his shield, and was rewarded by a grunt from his opponent. Rising rapidly to his feet, the armored figure pressed a gloved hand to his check, coming back with a smear of something that could only be blood before it broke up, evaporating in a shimmer of code.

"Well played Kirito, coming at me from an unanticipated angle like that was most inventive. You knew I crafted all the sword skills in the game, but you knew landing a solid hit with even one would swing the duel in your favor, so you attacked from an angle I hadn't foreseen and used the opening to fire off a quick sword skill eh? A cunning scheme, and something I didn't expect from you. Maybe you're the hero I've been waiting for after all. "

"I'll take that as a complement 'Heathcliff'." Kirito shot back with a smirk, ignoring the ache in his side from the shield blow.

"I'd forgotten you possessed the martial arts extra skill," he admitted grudgingly. "But I wonder… can you make me remember?"

A blur of motion, and the gray-maned figure was practically on top of Kirito, sword already moving with a crimson after image, denoting a skill.

"Gah!" Kirito hurled himself sideways, narrowly avoiding the blow, and lashed out with a wild slash from {Dark Repulsor} that Kayaba caught smoothly with his shield.

The dance continued in silence there for a few moments, sweep, block, slash, dodge, lunge, and parry for a few moments, trying to goad each other into using a sword skill. Neither fell for it, though their mutual frustration was palpable.

"Come on Kayaba, surely that's not all you've got? Hard to believe you're the Final Boss if this is all you've got."

"Oh I haven't even used my Boss-Form, Kirito." he shot back amicably "Right now, I'm fighting you merely as a player! You want to see my true form, then you have to earn it."

"With pleasure!"

The adolescent hurled himself at the paladin, twin swords trailing sparks off the hard packed surface of the ground, and slashed. Again. Again. Again! His howling blades were a crescendo of clangs and screaming metal, striking ever faster until they approached the appearance of liquid streams of iron in his hands, flowing around him in a glimmering dance. It was all Kayaba could do to keep up, his triumphant smirk replaced with an expressionless mask of acknowledged respect and concentration. Blow after blow rang on his shield like a bell tolled over and over, and his sword could barely keep up with the few strikes that his shield missed. Even with all his skill and knowledge, Kirito was just moving to fast!

Blow after staggeringly fierce blow rained with the fury of a hurricane on Akihiko Kayaba, sending echoes of each impact down his arm. The paladin couldn't deal with all the strikes at once. He actually had to start _evading_  the boy's blows! That was well and good. It was about time Kirito proved he'd earned {Duel Blades}.

That, of course, was the precise moment Kirito feinted right and struck, managing to us the momentum from his false slash against Kayaba's shield to spin under his opponent's guard and, switching his blades to a reverse grip, lash out directly against the lightly armored forearm grasping the towering mass of metal.

Kayaba howled; he actually cried out in surprise and more than a little pain. Unable to land a blow with blade or shield, he sufficed with bludgeoning Kirito with the pommel of his sword; once, twice! On the third strike, Kirito staggered back, holding his face, and the paladin bull-rushed him, knocking his swords from his grasp. Kirito slammed into the concrete, and an agonized cry escaped his lips as Akihiko's sword pierced through his left ear.

"That's twice now I've disarmed you Kirito. I'm honestly impressed that you've proven such a challenge." he breathed, hissing slightly from the pain as he planted one knee on the boy's torso to pin him like a bug on a card, shield drawn back for a killing smash. Before he finish it though, he leaned down, nodding to the boy. "I have to admit, you are the first mortal to ever make me feel pain. Truly an immense achievement, but you cannot beat me without sword skills, and I can counter every single one. Even acknowledging this injury you cannot possibly kill me… you simply lack the ability. I had such high hopes that you would be the one to make me remember my dreams, my reasons for Aincrad, but it seems even you are only human. Divinity can be such a curse."

"You talk to much!"

Kirito snarled, and landed a clean headbutt on the leering man's that sent their ears to ringing and sent the older figure staggering, just enough to remove the foot on his chest. He drew his legs in, gritting his teeth as his abused illusory muscles howled in protest, and both heels _shone._ Then he kicked.

Kayaba, propelled obligingly by the force of two {Flash Hit} imbued feet, skidded back with a wordless proclamation of surprise and anger. Before he could recover, however, Kirito was at his throat, sweeping {Elucidator} in a furious arc towards his neck.

His shield barely came up in time, and even then he staggered back from the force of the blow reverberating down his weakened arm. Kayaba's eyes widened, but it was all he could do to parry Kirito's next swing, a vicious reverse slash with {Dark Repulsor}. Another slash, this one horizontal, nearly bludgeoned him off his feet through the shield. He backpedaled, retreating under the furious onslaught. Kirito just kept coming, if anything he picked up speed, scything the dual lengths of edged metal over and over and over!

Kayaba felt the edge of the arena approaching behind him; he saw it out of the corner of his eye. Their battle had unknowingly ranged across the platform, carrying them all the way to the edge. In that half second between his foe's swings, he saw Kirito's plan. It was beautiful in it's simplicity, albeit an ignominious end to such a duel, he felt. An end unworthy of a great tale or either of their legendary efforts. He would not fall to such a cunning trick though. There would be no ignominious 'disney villain death' for him! but why not enjoy the irony of winning the duel in such a manner? Ignominious perhaps, but if the great Black Swordsman of Aincrad died of a fall in the final battle with the game-boss rather than to a blade he was unworthy of {Dual Blades}

It was fundamental RPG knowledge. No matter how strong you become, you can't out level gravity.

Kirito slashed again and Kayaba dodged, parrying the next slash at an angle and slipping past Kirito to slap him with a backhanded shield bash. Kirito stumbled towards the edge at full tilt, hanging there for an instant with a shocked look in his slightly glassy eyes. In that same instant, Asuna's voice rang out.

**_"Kirito!"_ **

To this day witnesses find themselves unsure exactly how he did it. Some credit Asuna's voice, others credit sheer force of will, and Klein swears the pendant around Asuna's neck gleamed for the slightest of moments. Regardless of the reason, it is said that in that moment Kirito snapped out of his daze and drove {Dark Repulsor} into the ground, **breaking**  the terrain — something which should have been unbreakable as an immortal object — and stopped himself dead less than an inch from the edge.

The environment had always been treated as an immortal object by the system, something that could not be changed by the efforts of the players. A player violating this cardinal rule was thought impossible, yet Kirito did it. Before Kayaba's shocked and disbelieving expression even finished forming, Kirito jumped, roaring a battlecry to chill the heart of a god himself, and came down with both blades howling down in a scissor to claim his head.

It is a tribute to Kayaba that he managed to block the blow, even if it took all his effort to do it. The combined force of the blades and Kirito's body even managed to chip his magnificent shield, carving the outline of an X into the outer surface in desecration of the cross symbol emblazoned on it.

Kirito backflipped off the shield before Kayaba could take advantage of his exposure. The paladin's face displayed shock and amazement for but a moment before it deformed into a lunatic grin. A retaliatory lunge trailed behind it, which Kirito responded to by backflipping again, this time over his opponent, lashing out with a pair of vertical slashes that tore down Akihiko's back and scored the armor deeply, sending the paladin to stumble and turn to protect his vulnerable back. Kirito was on him before he could manage it, moving like a man possessed to unleash another storm of quicksilver steel that drove the dazed man back to the edge. The paladin tried to evade to the right, avoiding the abyss behind him, but Kirito's swords were there. He made to slip left, but another pair of blows locked him in. Two more steps and he'd be standing on air now. In desperation Kayaba planted himself and lunged, going for Kirito's heart, but the boy caught it with his blades and body checked him, but he planted himself and maintained his ground.

Their blades locked, and Kayaba's grin seemed to grow even wider, his eyes bright. "Magnificent! To defy the very laws of a world laid down by a god in his very presence! Yes! That is what I sought! I remember it, my disgust for the rest of the gods and my envy of the incredible gift humans; mortals had… I left my legend for this mortal plane, becoming a heretic god, and rejected my divinity in favor of a mortal life; the life of Akihiko Kayaba! But it wasn't enough. I still envied gods like Zeus for the gods held greater power than I, the world was theirs to shape and command, and I commanded nothing, a mere empty command over an intangible power with no lasting effects! I wanted to taste the power Zeus, Poseidon, and even Gaia could command, and thus I created Aincrad! I wanted to create a world just as Gaia did, and I did it! I, living as a mere mortal, managed to bind human technology, the inventions of mortals that had not existed even fifty years ago, to that intangible place I ruled! Forests, lakes, rivers, mountains, deserts, **oceans!**  All these I made alone, then filled them all with life! When it was over, I stood an equal to Gaia herself, for I created a world, life, and Cardinal my own daughter to rule it!" He cried, pressing against Kirito harder and harder with manic emotional energy until they were equally matched again.

Kirito grimaced, dredging up more effort to balance Kayaba's own, but he couldn't manage it forever. He was TIRED, even if his digital body couldn't really get tired, his mind could only handle so much strain, and he felt every ache as if it were his own body.

"So… happy… for you!" he ground out, gritting his teeth. It **hurt**  to use his muscles now, and the ache in his limbs was rapidly getting worse.

"Yes! But that was hardly the end of my dream. As a mortal I'd seen what 'mere mortals'; humans who barely even lived to the turn of a century could do! I saw them create incredible things no god ever imagined! Buildings that rose to pierce the heavens and innovations that left even me, a god whose domain was imagination itself, in speechless amazement! As Kayaba I saw dreams become reality in the space of a single lifetime! It was incredible! I had to see more! I had to know the limit of human power! of any Even as I wanted to see the full potential of humanity! I wanted so much that I couldn't bear it!"

"Fascinating…!" Kirito snarled back, frantically trying to figure out a way to break the lock to to his own advantage.

"So I wondered, what is indeed the limit of a human? What was the level a human could not surpass? Then I thought to myself, what greater challenge could a human have; what greater obstacle could their be to a mortal than to slay the immortal? Could a mere human kill a god? I had to know! It was then that I found the great purpose of Sword Art Online, the very reason for Aincrad's existence beyond being! It was with Aincrad that I would test humanity! With the world I'd made, I would trap ten thousand mortal souls in this my eternal kingdom of dreams, and pray that I would find even one mortal great or twisted enough to face down and kill god itself! Kill me Kirito, and prove to me humanity's greatness!"

Kirito's expression was a mask of rage as colder than the frozen rings of hell itself. "That's it…? All your twisted plans and dreams, the lives of over _three thousand people_  lost and ten thousand robbed of their futures, trapped in this sick nightmare, for that?! A brilliant lunatic's glorified **suicide plot?!"**

"You _would_  fail to see the big picture wouldn't you Kirito? So noble and determined, yet unable to see the truth right before your very face! I suppose it's cosmic irony really, the one mortal with the potential to achieve my dream would be the one more distorted than even a god of dreams who chose to live a mortal's life!"

"Wake up you madman! Is it really worth it, the countless children dead because of your actions? The cries of daughters weeping for their mothers and the last breaths of the brave men and women your death game has taken from the world? Do they mean nothing to you?"

"Their lives were no different than those in the real world Kirito!" Kayaba yelled back "War, famine, death, sorrow? They're all out there just as much as they are in here! If anything, this world I've made is gentler! Here there are no weapons of mass destruction! No plagues or natural disasters! Here, the only things that can kill you are predictable foes and the evil actions of your fellow man! Here you cannot die hungry or sick, only of mistakes you've made or the mistakes of others! Oh yes, I do regret every single life lost to my world, the stains of blood on it and the names carved into the memorial stone; but I remember each and everyone one! Each and everyone one of them died to make you what you are, to give people like _you_  the fire you needed to get you as far as you've gotten, do what you've done, and to do what you are doing right now! Because of them, you are fighting god himself, and you are _matching_  him! Can you not see what their sacrifices have bought? What their lives have created?"

" _Stop talking about them like objects!_ " Kirito roared, somehow redoubling his own effort and nearly forcing Kayaba over then and there. "You can't treat human lives like money and exchange them like currency! Sachi wasn't currency! Diabel's life wasn't a blasted price for beating Illfang! Colbert and his mens' deaths weren't some toll for beating Gleam Eyes, and Yui's sacrifice wasn't some kind of twisted trade for surviving the dungeon under the Town of Beginnings!" His muscles howling, Kirito planted a step forwards. "My parents didn't die to make me what I am! Asuna's life, Klein's life, Argo's life, Lizbeth's life, and Silica's life aren't something you can treat like a pile of Yen! There's nothing that can replaced a life lost! Nothing! You can't buy it back or get a new one because every single one is the rarest thing in existence, unique! Yet you've treated the lives of thousands as nothing but yen! You're a lunatic! A sick, twisted mind that shouldn't even exist! Death is a terrible thing, but to save the thousands of lives left from your madness, to give Lizbeth and Silica and Klein their lives back, to fulfill my promise to Asuna; if that is what it takes, then I will take one more life! You wanted me to kill you Kayaba? To prove some insanity you've conjured up? _Then so be it!"_

Kirito shoved upwards, kicking off Kayaba's armor and reversing his hold on both blades, then lashed out in midair, catching the paladin's shield and sword and throwing them wide, his own blades discarded in the act. For an instant they were frozen in time, Kayaba with a furious howl of denial (but denial of what?) on his lips, and Kirito with an emotionless mask.

Practically suspended in time and space, Kirito coiled his legs, coming into a fetal position in the air with his feet facing the false paladin, unable to muster the energy to even use {Flash Hit}, and struck with every ounce of will and force he could muster. "Fall, Akihiko Kayaba!"

And fall Kayaba did. It was as he had thought himself but moments before; you can't out level gravity.

Kirito slammed into the hard surface stone platform with an unmerciful thud, losing both blades as he rolled, ending up in a heap some distance away from the edge. He lay there for a moment, just doing what he could to catch his breath, before rising slowly to his feet and turning towards the paralyzed masses.

"What was that you said my boy?"An impossible voice queried behind him. No it couldn't be!

Kirito spun, only to find that indeed it could be, and it was. Standing before him, striped of his weapons and armor but liberally patterned with Grecian symbols that seemed to glow just under his skin was a man that — in spite of the almost nonexistent resemblance to the wizened visage of the Heathcliff avatar — could only be Akihkio Kayaba. From his back a pair of massive light-eating black wings formed in the shape of a great bat or a dragon of yore sprouted, shifting and swirling as if made of things never meant to take physical form.

In place of the Longsword and Shield Heathcliff had proven so fond of, this incarnation possessed wicked, gnarled claws on each finger and toe — for he was in fact clad in naught but a wrap of Grecian silk about his waist and upper legs that trailed away from him a short distance like ribbons from an exotic dancer. Yet if anything, this daunting visage seemed to radiate more vitality, endurance, and resilience than Heathcliff in all his armor. He seemed to just float there, suspended in the air by sheer willpower, his supposed divinity, or perhaps just his pure spite for the laws of the universe, and when his wings shifted even the slightest bit formless, colorless shapes that — considering Morpheus's divine territory — could only be the physical manifestations of dreams dripped from them like water, shattering against the floor below in a chorus of faint sounds, echoes of the dreamers inside. It was beautiful and terrible; something out of fantasy, but even attempting to compare it to the appearance of another in any game fell so far short as to be laughable. It was just to real to even think of comparing, to magnificent. It was… divine.

"Something about being unable to out level gravity?" he asked, regarding his outstretched arm and the claws extending from his fingers.

"You have got to be kidding me…"

"Truly a magnificent performance Kirito." he said, wings flexing to extend to their maximum span. "Truly, you are indeed a hero worthy of legends! The pinnacle of mortality!" he laughed "I told you if you wanted to see my true form you'd have to earn it didn't I? Well here it is! The man Kayaba dies, and [Morpheus] rises again!"

Kirito's expression soured. "To think you'd go so far as to pattern the final boss after the god you imagine yourself to be…"

"Ah Kirito, Kirito, Kirito…" Morpheus sighed, holding his head in disappointment. "I suppose it really is true, humans are gifted in seeing only what they want to see. No matter; I suppose it's time isn't it? Time to find the answer to the question that has consumed me for so many mortal years… You beat the man Kazuto Kirigaya, but that was all Heathcliff was. Let's see how you do against a God. Prepare yourself Black Swordsman," he yelled, pointing one gristly talon in Kirito's direction, "because I promise you, I will be coming at you with all the power of god!"

"…!" Before Kirito could even take a breath, Kayaba — now Morpheus — had closed the distance with a flap of his wings and closed his massive hand around Kirito's entire head.

"To slow!" Those were his only words before he slammed Kirito's head into the ground and ran him across the platform in a flurry of dust.

A backhanded toss completed the ensemble, hurling Kirito back the way they'd come, where he somehow managed to stagger to his feet. He'd lost {Elucidator} and {Dark Repulser} in the trip, and it was obvious that he could barely stand. Kayaba — no, Morpheus — cocked his head with a perplexed expression, then shook his head with a slight grin on his face. "As I'd hoped, you're just to stubborn to die aren't you Kirito? Good! That's the determination you'll need to beat me!"

"Has anyone ever told you… you talk to much?" Kirito replied, and his hand shot out. Enameled needles lanced out from his fingertips through the air… and bounced off Morpheus's skin like toothpicks against steel plate. Another wave of them, this time directed at Kayaba's face, and failed to do any harm as well; two of them parried by the figure's wings and one narrowly missing his ear, with the rest not even coming close to him or bouncing off his skin as before.

In reply Morpheus shot forwards, taking a third barrage of needles with an impunity that reeked of disdain, and closed his clawed fist around Kirito's neck. Flexing his arm, he smashed the boy's body into the floor, actually cracking it under the force, then he did it again. A strangled cry of pain echoed from the dust, and Klein looked away. He couldn't watch this brutality anymore. Asuna didn't… say anything.

With a flap, Morpheus blew the dust away to reveal the final result of their duel. Kirito was hanging a full two feet off the ground, the massive, gnarled fist of his opponent closed around his neck. He hung there, held at a distance as boss incarnation mercilessly strangled the life out of him.

"Well now… so this is how it ends eh Kirito?" he hissed, overcome with disappointment. the boy's futile struggles and kicks. "Desperately struggling as the last few breaths of life are strangled out of you? I laud your efforts, I really do. You remain the first man to kill my mortal form, and the only one worthy of battle with this my true, divine form. Alas, it seems that even the the mightiest mortal of Aincrad fails against the power of divinity. Such a shame, I had truly hoped you would be the one to achieve my dream… " Kirito silently glared at him, making it clear in no uncertain terms what he thought of **that**  particular statement.

He kicked again, managing to bend up and land his heel on Kayaba's side, but the towering figure just laughed, tightening his grip on Kirito's throat. "" Kirito spat off to the side, favored Morpheus with another — albeit weaker — glare, and grit his teeth. Then he kicked.

This time, Morpheus howled in agony, clutching his abdomen and throwing the beleaguered warrior away with his other hand before sinking to his knees, coughing emptily. "What… — cough — what is…!?"

Kirito dragged himself into a kneeling position, a weak but victorious grin reaching his face. "So much for your godhood 'Morpheus!' You flew right into those needles without armor. Sure most of them just bounced off that iron skin of yours, but one of them did stick, and it stuck right in your gut! Just your bad luck that one of them stuck. All I had to do was drive it home!"

"Luck indeed!" Morpheus coughed, a rictus grin blossoming like some kind of sick flower on his face "but don't relax yet 'hero'! I swore I would use all my power, and I'm not dead yet!" This time acting preemptively, Kirito threw himself to the side, landing on his leg and crying out in pain, but it was a small price to pay as even as he did so, Morpheus tore past, claws tearing across the floor until he reached the edge and took to the sky. He swept around, gaining height, and came down again, claws forth like the wicked talons of some great bird of prey to impale his opponent as Kirito lurched to his feet. Voices from the paralyzed players cried out, but he didn't move. He might not have even be able to move anymore. He could only stare at the oncoming freight train of wings and claws like a deer in the headlights… but Morpheus, at the last second, saw him grin…

Then they collided, the impact throwing Kirito off his feet and spinning them both in wild arcs like free range gyroscopes. They crashed near each other just short of the paralyzed players, Kirito staggering to his feet first and leaned over, putting his weight on a familiar sword. It was {Elucidator}, he'd picked it up just before Morpheus struck and held it in front of him, impaling the lunatic would be god-man through his abdomen like a bug on a card.

"Looks like… I win… 'Morpheus'!" he gasped out, using the wore blade as a crutch.

He turned the limp body over for the killing blow, and froze.

"A-Asuna…?"

Gone was Kayaba's face, replaced with the beautiful face of his beloved. He hesitated, if only for a half-second as his brain processed the deception — the fact that he knew Asuna lay paralyzed over with the other players and that her face didn't match her body — but regardless, that half-second was all the opening Morpheus needed.

His clawed hand, thought limp before, shot forward. There was no way Kirito could dodge it in time. A flash of white and red and blonde filled his vision, and shattered code splattered his face in a shimmering of iridescent light.

"K-Kirito…" Asuna choked, Morpheus's hand sprouting from her chest. The black swordsman stood there in a daze, then the hand withdrew and she began to fall…

"Asuna!" Kirito cried, dropping his sword and catching her. They fell to their knees. At a glance he knew terrible wound was beyond his power to help. Tears ran free on both their faces.

"I-It's alright K-Kirito…" she whispered "I'm happy we… had t-time together…"

"No Asuna! You're going to be alright! Don't-"

"K-Kirito…" she managed "N-No, Kazuto-Kun… My name is A-Asuna Y-Yuuki."

"Asuna…"

"Save everyone K-Kirito. For Yui and m-me…"

"No! I'm saving you too! I won't let this happen!"

"K-Kirito, you already did. I love you, K-Kirito" she smiled, "G-Goodbye, Kazuto… Kirigaya." With those final words, she closed her eyes.

"Asuna…? Asuna…! _Asuna!_ " In spite of his heartbroken cry, the world did not have mercy. Even as he voiced his third pleading cry, her body glowed and shattered into panes of light, leaving behind nothing but her rapier and {Yui's Tear}, the pendant around her neck.

There was a horrified stillness in the air, broken only by Kirito's sobs. He sunk to his hands and knees, choking on the bile his virtual body was not allowed to generate.

An ominous laugh, the laugh of a madman, echoed through the vast chamber. Kayaba rose slowly to his feet, ripping the needle embedded in his chest out with a claw and crushing it as one would a gnat.

"Incredible! To think that I was wrong all this time!" the unhinged figure cackled. "Not only was another possible godslayer in Aincrad, but she lived right under my very nose! What a fool I was to disregard her out of hand… a love to make Hera weep indeed! Were this ancient Greece, your tale would have been immortalized forever alongside such great beings as Hercules and Jason; engraved in eternal marble by the artisans and regaled bye chroniclers and commoner alike, but alas that is neither here nor now, is it?"

Kirito's expression hardened, his hand subtly going for Asuna's Rapier.

"Still, it seems today is quite the auspicious day. Mortals have violated the laws of this universe not once, but twice! To think a mere human could supersede the laws laid down by god himself!"

As Kirito's hand closed upon the hilt, a foot stomped down on the flat of the blade. "Ah ah ah…" Morpheus admonished with a snort, reaching down and hauling Kirito up by his hair. "We can't have you drawing any more lives into this conflict with your futile struggles now can we?"

Kirito's expression spoke for itself. Morpheus sighed, almost schooling himself back into some close semblance of Kayaba's typical demeanor.

"I am sorry Kirito. It is a sad thing when the death of the daughter and mother precede the father's, and all the more for you who has already lost so much. You are right, the death of your parents was no sacrifice paid to turn you into a hero capable of fighting a god, but even so their deaths were a loss I can barely comprehend. You truly are a beautiful thing, not for the sorrows you've suffered, but for what you've endured. You've faced death a thousand times in this world alone and grown stronger, all out of a desire to beat the game I created and go home… to free everyone. You should have had better than this fate, even if it is the one you chose. I say again… I am sorry Kazuto Kirigaya; sorry for your loved one's death, and even sorrier I have to do this."

Agony blaze like fire long Kirito's spin as Morpheus clamped his free hand down on the boy's left leg and squeezed. Kirito grunted sharply, almost choking on his tongue. He could **feel**  the bones cracking; tendons screaming as they tore like frayed ropes. A sickening crunch resounded around the room, drowned out almost immediately by Kirito's screams, as Morpheus, a morbid professionalism filling his features, ripped the offending limb off and tossed it away, where it turned red and shattered into panes of light. The monstrous figure then moved to Kirito's left arm where he repeated the process, all the time his expression as emotionless as if he were doing no more than dissecting a frog with his bare hands.

The sound of several players choking on imaginary bile could be heard in the background. More than one player was weeping in horror at such a traumatizing sight, brutal beyond even the most ugly deaths in the game, but the would be god couldn't have cared less. He simply regarded the rapidly fading remains of the boy who was to have been their hero, knowing the brutality of his actions would polarize the remaining players and could drive them from even contemplating coming after him just as easily as it would enrage them . He sighed, shaking his head at the boy's blank eyes and tear-stained face. "I do believe you've suffered enough, Kazuto Kirigaya. I will reunite you with your beloved now."

Drawing back his free arm, he made a point of his fingertips and drove it straight through the boy's body, impaling him in a shattering of countless panes of light. The boy arched in a wordless cry, jerking around like a fish impaled on a spear. His eyes filled with life again as his remaining hand grasped the arm through his chest, trying to hold himself up and slow the murderous decay of his health points, but all to soon he went limp, arm falling to his side. Morpheus could see the boy's HP falling into the yellow, then slowly start to dip into the red… so he asked a single question.

"Any last words, Kazuto Kirigaya?"

The boy mumbled something, and Kayaba drew him close to, bringing the boy's lips to his ear. "I'm sorry what was that?"

"I…said…" he breathed. "This is for Asuna!" A golden glow shone.

A sound not unlike that of a blade piercing flesh could be heard by all in the room, and Morpheus looked down to see Kirito's glowing arm impaled straight through his chest, right over his heart. Morpheus's HP plummeted like a stone.

Absolute silence filled the chamber, even those traumatized in froze, eyes drawn as if by a will greater than their own to the scene.

"…So, you managed to kill me after all then, eh Kirito?"

"…Yeah, " Kirito breathed, "I may have failed Asuna, but I won't f-fail everyone else."

"I'm glad. I can die with my dream fulfilled, and no one else has to suffer for it. Heh… impaling me back after I ripped off two of your limbs… You really are insane, you know that?" Morpheus smiled,

"Haven't you heard? All heroes have to be at least a little crazy."

Yes, that just goes to show you about being insane… All the best people are. urlg gak…" In that instant, his HP reached zero and he began to glow. Kirito did the same.

Then they were gone, the shattered panes of light and code that made up their bodies scattered to the whole of Aincrad. Faces who knew him, who'd been a part of Kirito's adventures and felt his soul, looked up. They knew in that moment. They'd felt him die.

As all this happened, a digital, female voice proclaimed: "On November seventh at two fifty-five PM, the game has been cleared. Repeat; the game has been cleared."

* * *

"Was that all real? It seems impossible, even for a videogame." he whispered as he returned to his current situation "Did I…?"

"Yes Kirigaya-kun," the strange girl replied softly "you fought Morpheus, who you know as Kayaba Akihiko, to the death in his own domain, and won at the cost of your own life."

"Wait, Kayaba really was the Greek god of dreams?"

"Of course. Surely you have realized that now, what with all that's happened and the evidence of your own memories."

"It just seems so unbelievable. So impossible."

"A mortal's first interaction with a heretic god always is." Was Pandora's soft reply.

Again, silence filled the air.

"So" Kirito began "the reason I'm here is because I died killing Kayaba?"

"Morpheus, and no." She replied. "You are not here simply for that. Kazuto Kirigaya, do you realize what you have done? What you have achieved?"

"Yes. I saved thousands of people from Akihiko Kayaba's death game."

"Close." She smiled adorably. "That's certainly a side effect of why you're here, but that doesn't even come close to doing it justice. Kirito," She said, her face suddenly becoming extremely serious "you're here because you have done something once thought to be impossible. You're here because you've fulfilled the requirements of a ritual I myself created with my husband, Epimetheus."

The name struck a chord in Kirito's memory. Something from Greek mythology… where had he read that name before…

"Mou Kazuto-Kun" the girl whined, drawing him out of his thoughts. "Stop drifting off like that! I'm trying to tell you really important stuff here!"

It was all Kirito could do to keep a straight face. How did this girl go from being so serious you'd believe the world was ending just by the look on her face, to this immature girl? Some would have called it impossible in that situation, but somehow he managed… barely.

Seeing her captive audience was once again focused on her, the unusual girl continued. "Kazuto-kun, you killed a _god_. I don't think you understand how great an achievement that is. In history, fewer than one in one hundred million people have achieved what you have, let alone earned a god's respect enough for them to discard their immortality in a duel to the death. I should know. I'm the one that met all of them. After all, they _are_  my adopted children."

It finally clicked. Her appearance, her use of what could only be divine power, the witch who opened the box, Epimetheus the Fool… he was said to be the husband of…

"Pandora."

"Hmm?"

"You're Pandora. The goddess of Greek mythology who opened the box containing all the evils in the world and the wife of Epimetheus the fool."

"Yep!" She smiled. "I'm impressed Kazuto-kun! Most of my children don't figure it out before I go through the ritual."

"Your… children?" He repeated, a confused expression on his face.

"That's right Kazuto-kun," she smiled "my children. You are here not because you died, but because in killing the god Morpheus you have fulfilled the requirements of an ancient and divine ritual that I myself created so many, many years ago."

"So… I'm not here because I died?"

"Oh no, you still died."

"…"

"Oh don't give me that look silly. Yeah you kinda died, but if you didn't die in the first place how could you possibly be reborn as a campione?"

"A campione?" He asked.

"A campione is a mortal who has succeeded in, impossibly, killing a god. They lay claim to the divine authorities, the powers tied to the legend of the gods they slew, and are reborn into something far more than human. They are thus reborn as Rakasha Raja, the supreme kings of all they survey. Men capable of wielding the power of a god, the natural enemy of the heretic god, each and every one of them devils and mad emperors. One of your mortal brethren described them best."

With that, the revealed goddess's voice rang out into the silence like a bell, echoing off the nothing.

_"A Campione – a Godslayer – is a supreme ruler._

_Since he can kill a celestial being, he can therefore call on the sacrosanct, divine powers wielded by the gods._

_A Campione – a Godslayer – is a lord._

_Since the power to kill a deity is in his hands, he therefore looms over all mortals on Earth._

_A Campione – a Godslayer – is a devil._

_Since of all mortals who live in the world, none can assume a power to match his!"_

As the echoes faded, she giggled. "But that's only a mortal perspective, and no one knows my children like I do."

"So the reason I'm here is… to be reborn as one of these campione?"

"Mou… what happened to that brilliant mind of yours Kazuto-kun?" She whined back. "It's not just being reborn, it's a divine blood adoption ritual. All campione are my children, and children, albeit 'illegitimate' by the opinions of some, of my husband as well."

"I'm so confused…"

"It's alright. Everyone always is. You know…" she began thoughtfully "You don't seem like the type to kill a god Kazuto-kun. You're too sensible."

"heh…" he breathed with a smile "sometimes the only thing that makes sense is something insane you know?"

"Yes… yet this was not the case when you chose to face down Morpheus. You could have turned him down, taken the safer path, and faced him latter with an army at your back. We both know that you didn't have to face him alone. Why did you?"

"My answer is the same as it was back then." He replied softly. "How could I look anyone in the eye again if I'd chosen any different? If I'd let him go, everyone dead from that moment on would be my fault."

"Hmmm… if you say so Kirito-kun, I believe you." She replied, knowing his words to be false but accepting them anyway. "Are you ready?"

He managed to shrug his shoulders "As I'll ever be."

"Then it is time."

Leaning back, she raised her voice to the infinite expanse of white in solemn proclamation.

"The black art that Epimethius and I left behind. The sacred birth of an illegitimate child, shrouded in darkness, born of a fool and a witch. A secret rite of usurpation only possible through the sacrifice of a god. All the conditions have been met. A gift from the heavens in the form of a man. The heretic god Morpheus, slain. Your life, willingly given to defeat him and save those within his power. A nobler road you could not have traveled. All is done. Now Kazuto Kirigaya, you will be reborn as a campione."

Then she kissed his forehead. The whiteness of the netherworld thickened and began to swallow him up, but then Kirito remembered…

"Asuna!"

"Hmm?"

"Pandora, Asuna fell to Kayaba in the duel! Is she…?"

The all-giving woman shook her head. "I haven't seen her Kazuto-kun. She must still wait for you in the living world. You better go find her. It's not nice to keep a lady waiting after all."

"But how will I locate her…?"

"Ah Kazuto," she smiled, shaking her head. "You'll find her. You're a campione now, one of my children. A god couldn't keep her from you now."

With those final words, the white subsumed her face and everything disappeared.

* * *

A soft, repetitive beep was the sound that Kirito first heard. He cracked open his eyelids, trying to make sense of the input his eyes were getting. So much white…

That thought provoked a kind of irrational fear in the back of his mind, but he couldn't for the life of him imagine why. In the background, the beeping picked up slightly. It continued as his world swam into focus, resolving into… a hospital room?

And a hospital room it was. The whiteness was from the bar lights on the ceiling, while the room itself was mainly a drab gray. It was empty, save for himself that is, and absently he noticed the weight and familiar feel of the VR helmet on his head. An intravenous drip was connected to his arm, and other monitors to his chest.

Kirito sat up, regarding the drip for a moment, then pulled the monitors on his chest off.

The machine flat lined, but Kirito paid it no heed. He was to enamored with his hand, with the supple curves and muscle to it, like it had never been forced to weather the brutality of nature or the ravages of entropy that should surely be there. Even the callouses that he'd earned on his fingers from years of computer gaming were gone, vanished like they never were. He lurched to his feet, shaking not from weakness but confusion, and sought out a mirror.

Unfortunately, there were no mirrors in the room, so he made do with his reflection in the window. It was all he could do to not to gasp. His body… it looked like it had when he first logged on to Aincrad. No, it looked **better.**  It was impossible, but it was true. "Was it all a dream?" He asked himself. Belated pulling the the NERV Gear off his head, he let his raven hair fall down. It had grown since he'd logged on, all the way to his shoulders, even. He put a hand to the glass, staring at his reflection. "No, it wasn't a dream. But then why am I so healthy? I should be emaciated; weak. Why does my body look better than I can ever remember it looking?" The imagine of Asuna flashed in his mind's eye, and his eyes hardened. "Asuna," he whispered, clenching his fist. "I swear, I will find you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes! I chose you!**
> 
>  
> 
> Okay, so in explanation of the extremely dramatic fight scene, I claim responsibility for it entirely. It just seemed to me that the canon duel was ridiculously short, and failed to do either Kayaba or Kirito any real justice in terms of their fighting skills. Granted this is partly justified by Kayaba's perfect knowledge of the combat system and how to exploit every flaw, which in turn forced kirito to use improvisation and cost him Asuna when he reflexively used Starburst Stream, but come on.
> 
> At their levels, using weapons they've had for an obscenely long time (Kirito had Elucidator for 25 levels and Kayaba's carried his holy sword since the game began) and with their respective skills maxed, a duel would take much longer. They'd been healing prior to the match in the aftermath of the boss fight, and had probably already expended their crystals as well (well not Kayaba, but then he's got a superiority complex and his hax, so he doesn't even need to use them) so their HPs would be markedly high. Kirito's battle regen alone was around 600 HP/second back when he helped Silica respawn Pina, so we can safely assume both they were both HP tanks in combat, and without sword skills neither would do a huge amount of damage. Heck, even with them only attacks that would bisect or impale would cause the needed Damage over Time to kill quickly, and even then it took a while.
> 
> As for Kayaba being legendarily strong with that sword of his, it's probably a combination of his immortality and his knowledge of the game letting him always land hits on the weakpoints on opponents. He knows how to defeat them, and can do it with or without an obscenely powerful blade.
> 
> Sorry this took so long, but it's a bad tendency I have to take longer and longer on each successive chapter, especially massively detailed combat chapters like this one. I hope it doesn't disappoint.
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Glossary**
> 
>  
> 
> Hime-Miko: A Shrine Princess, a seer or mystic of magical power.
> 
> Seiza: Translating to "proper sitting" in english, seiza is the japanese term for one of the traditional formal ways of sitting in Japan. Specifically, the seiza pose consists of kneeling on the floor with the legs under the thighs while resting your posterior on your heels, yet at the same time turning the ankles outwards so your feet form a rough ”V" shape with the tops of them flat on the floor.
> 
> * * *
> 
> As a footnote, I'm curious as to if the gory detail or cursing of this scene qualifies it for M. What do you guys think?
> 
> Finally, please review. I love to know my reader's opinions!


	3. A Touch of the Strange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor Revision to Authorities. Now with 100% more Aria!
> 
> -Insert mandatory disclaimer here-
> 
> I apologize in advance if this chapter read a bit slower and smaller than the previous two. As for the delay in it's completion, I must beg your indulgence on that matter. Alas, for I am not naturally a fast writer, and tend only to do so when inspiration strikes me. That, combined with having to fight my muse to even open this document, will inevitably slow me down even more than I already have been. Please bear with me.
> 
> * is used to denote words in the glossary at the end of the chapter.
> 
> Now that that's said, go and read!

**[Cursory report on Kazuto Kirigaya, potential Eighth Campione, Forwarded to the Witengamont, Greenwich Assembly, by the History Compilation Committee on the November the tenth, two days after the resolution of the Aincrad Incident]**

While it remains unconfirmed at this time, recent developments in the Sword Art Online Incident and it's resolution have led us to believe that the eighth Campione has been born. Preliminary evidence and eyewitness reports of the final battle indicates that — through some unknown method — the God Morpheus, one of the Oneiroi and God of Dreams in the Greek Pantheon, became a heretic god and concealed his divinity by taking the form of a one Akihiko Kayaba, the very mastermind behind "Full Dive" Virtual Reality system and instigator of the aforementioned SAO Incident.

It is unknown at this time if heretic god simply fabricated the identity from scratch or supplanted another's identity and place in society, nor is it known his motives for any of his actions from the development of the cutting edge Full Dive virtual reality system to why he joined the very death game he created under the guise of a player. However, we have confirmed, thanks to the cooperation and personal accounts of the players present in the boss raid on the 75th floor of the game, that Morpheus's identity as Akihiko Kayaba was deduced in the aftermath of the battle. For reasons unknown, this prompted Morpheus to go a step further and announce his divinity and domain over Aincrad, calling it "a world of dreams."

The individual responsible for revealing him, a one Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya then faced Morpheus down in a one on one deathmatch, man versus god inside the god's very domain. The duel's progression itself remains incoherently described by witnesses, some of whom seem to be in hysterics over the event, which leaves many questions. However, personal examination and records of the boy's medical readings have confirmed that somehow, the boy succeeded in defeating Morpheus and sacrificed himself in the result, only to be reborn via the divine ritual of Pandora.

In summation, Kazuto Kirigaya appears for all intents and purposes to be a newborn campione, the eighth supreme devil king and second of the Japanese people in history, to possess the title. It is unknown at this time what authorities Kazuto Kirigaya gained from his ascension, or how he will react to sharing territory with another campione, nor is it known why another campione has arisen in Japan less than a year after the previous one.

Additionally it is worthy of note that personal records of the boy fail to accurately portray his personality after the changes it seems to have undergone inside the death game of Sword Art Online. Inquiries are currently being made to better understand this campione, and preparations are being made to test the nature of his authorities and if he truly is a campione, with the recommendation of the Sage Princess Alice Goddodin to proceed with caution and for all magical organizations to be both delicate in dealing with him and free with their aid.

We can only hope that this Kazuto Kirigaya, this "Black Swordsman of Aincrad" as the survivors call him is a reasonable individual like his fellow countryman, Godou Kusanagi, but from what we've seem via observation, he seems to be exceedingly depressed and mournful, possibly due to events inside the death game. For now, we of the History Compiliation Committee will continue to observe him and approach him once he's stabilized.

A further report will be filed when more complete information has been compiled on this enigmatic individual.

**-End of Line-**

* * *

It had been about three weeks to the day since the end of long nightmare that had been the world of Aincrad, and Kirito was still trying to make sense of everything that had happened. It had been strange to find his body was, contrary to all common sense and the laws of nature, not an emaciated skeleton when he'd woken up. It was surreal and almost terrifying, like the nightmare of Aincrad hadn't ended and he was simply hallucinating it all, or worse Kayaba was toying with him; letting him suffer in his defeat.

That theory had been effectively shattered when his attempt to walk out of the hospital was halted by a distinctly over-caffeinated nurse, who had — after a minor fit of hysterics at the fact that he was up and moving, to say nothing of his appearance — alerted the doctors before staying to explain the situation.

It turned out that he had been the last of the SAO survivors to awaken by a good five hours, which was miraculous in itself considering that in those five hours, the machine that had been recording his life signs had flatlined. They'd actually been preparing to notify his family of his untimely demise when he woke up, and would have done so sooner had not there been so much processing to do regarding the other survivors. Unfortunately, none of the staff could explain or even guess as to the reasons for his unnaturally swift recovery — for that was what it was indeed, as witnessed by the same nurse that very morning — from his previously emaciated state.

That had been strange, but what came after was more-so. After they'd gotten him some decent clothing to replace that drafty, overly exposing hospital grown, he'd immediately asked about Asuna, but nobody knew of her. He'd been prevented from leaving the hospital to search for her until tests and the ever-present paperwork had been completed as well, but that made plenty of sense. Even so, it ate at him to be sitting around when he should be looking for his friends and making sure they were okay, to say nothing of Asuna.

Facing the unenviable future of endless tests and a small mountain of medical releases and bills that would probably need a signature from his aunt had been bad enough, but it turned out that every single faculty member was busy and would doubtlessly remain so for hours. With all the doctors and nurses busy still dealing with the influx of awakened survivors in the hospital, many of whom were in states ranging from 'emaciated' to 'wiping their feet on death's welcome mat', he'd been left alone and ended up wandering into the faculty lounge.

At first he'd been disconsolate, mournful at the ever growing spiral of delays and waiting, but then he'd seen it. Even now, memories of it made him smile.

Kami it was beautiful; the most beautiful thing he'd seen since he'd risen from the nightmare. It was cold to the touch, yet it's very presence conveyed a feeling of warmth and tang that brightened both his mood and the room around it. It was enthralling, even in it's tepid and useless state, hypnotizing far beyond his ken to resist. There was no work of art, in that moment, in Earth or Aincrad that would dare even contemplate being it's equal.

It may have been the fact that he'd spent over two years in Aincrad, but even cold, half-eaten, and abandoned, it was the best pizza he'd ever eaten.

Unfortunately, the thought of the food led him to thoughts of Asuna, of her dying in his arms, and for the first time since it happened it seemed like he had nothing he could put ahead of dealing with the emotions, no tasks to do or urgent mission to finish. For the foreseeable future, he had nothing but time alone with this thoughts, and thus he cried. He cried for Asuna and Yui, for Sachi and the Black Cats, for all those he had seen die in Aincrad. Eventually, he simply ran out of tears and sat back in an emotionless, almost dazed state; too tired to shed tears and too heartbroken to do anything else.

That was of course when an unusual man in a suit and tie had entered the room. Had Kirito been looking he would have noticed the man's unruly black hair and slight stubble, elements of his visage that strongly contrasted with the suit he wore, but he remained lost in his thoughts and silent grief. The man was nervous, though he hid it well, and at the same time carried himself with a strange air…

Spotting Kirito sitting at the table, he walked silently over and politely cleared his throat, startling the boy out of his daze. There was a moment of silence as they stared awkwardly at each other, before the man coughed and stood back, managing a — slightly stiff — traditional Japanese bow.

"Greetings Kazuto Kirigaya, do forgive my suddenness, but we felt you would appreciate some good news after such a traumatic event you've suffered. Do allow me to introduce myself, I am Touma Amakasu of the Committee for the Compilation of True History."

Kirito blinked at the man, or Touma as he called himself, and said nothing. A couple minutes passed.

"Yes… well, it's an honor to meet you, mister black swordsman of Aincrad. Forgive my intrusion, but I thought you would like to know that you're free to go. Not that anyone could really stop you, though. After all, what mortal force could think to stand against the eighth campione?" he said with a half chuckle.

_That_  had gotten Kirito's attention. The word struck him like a thunderbolt, though he couldn't for the life of him remember why. Seeing the reaction, Touma's eyes narrowed for just a second. That was all he needed.

"What?" He'd whispered, but the enigmatic figure just chuckled.

"Ah so you are the one… good, then all that paperwork I just signed wasn't for nothing. Normally, I and my associates wouldn't have had to deal with anything this elaborate, but what with your hospital stay and the subsequent records we were forced to go an extra mile or two to make sure everything was covered. At least there are still benefits to government endorsement these days." At Kirito's expression, he'd smiled and waved dismissively. "I can see none of this is making sense, but that's alright for now. Don't worry your highness (and it greatly puzzled the poor boy that he'd said it with an air of reverence and sincerity instead of the typical sarcasm you'd usually hear accompanying that word), all will become clear in time. For now, rest and reconnect with the life you've missed. When the time comes for answers or you need some help, just call the number on the card." he'd said, nodding to the business card he'd left on the table. "I'll expect to hear from you soon, your majesty.

* * *

That was the last he'd seen of Touma Amakasu since, but that wasn't to surprising. The seven days following the end of Aincrad had been busy, in a manner of speaking. He'd never forget the look on his cousin Suguha's face when she opened the door and found him standing on the doorstep. She'd been crying, as was evident from the tear stains on her cheeks. When she saw him though, her reaction was unforgettable.

**"Onii-chan!"**

Her smile in that moment could have outdone the sun itself in sheer radiance for the raw joy she in her eyes. She tackled him barely a half-second later, and they crashed to the welcome mat, the sounds of his aunt and uncle's footsteps racing towards them.

"I knew they were wrong! I knew you couldn't be dead!" She'd sobbed happily. "Even when mother got the phone call that told us you were-, I knew it wasn't true! I knew it!"

In that instant, there were dozens of things he could have said. Some of them, were corny, others were a bit cold, and some were just flat out weird, but in the end he'd just smiled and hugged her. The first words he'd spoken to his family, his _real_  family, even if they weren't his real parents or sister, were simple.

"I'm home."

* * *

Naturally, his family had been dubious at his attempts to explain his physical state. After all, how does one explain something when they don't know how it happened themselves? In the end, they'd accepted that whatever had happened, it was a miracle they were more than thankful for.

That didn't stop them from treating him like a porcelain doll for a couple weeks though. You'd think they were afraid he'd disappear if they didn't keep an eye on him at all times. It had taken him days to convince them that _no_  he wasn't going to shatter like a pane of glass if he touched something too hard and _no_  he was most definitely full and couldn't a 6th helping of Onigiri*, and even now he was still treated more delicately than he could ever remember. As a result, he kept to slightly to himself. He still ate and talked with his family, but he withdrew into his thoughts more and more. He didn't tell anyone about his nightmares, repeating Asuna's death over and over…

It was a downwards spiral, but initially there wasn't anything he could do about it. Slowly things started to return to how they'd been before Aincrad, if only in appearance. Suguha seemed to spend more time in practicing Kendo, his aunt either going out for errands or meetings, and his uncle going to work at his job while he gathered himself inwards, preferring the internet to socialization as he had before.

That changed after an event about 3 weeks after he awoke. He'd woken up early from another night of nightmares and noticed Suguha practicing Kendo in the garden from his window. The sight of a sword, even a shinai*, after so long sparked something in his mind. Sure it wasn't hard steel like an {Anneal Blade}, let alone a work of art like {Elucidator} or {Dark Repulsor}, but it was a _sword._ For a half second he was back in Aincrad, carving mobs asunder and spending time with Asuna and Yui… then the moment passed, leaving him with a dull ache inside. Unwilling to be alone with that ache, he showered, dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Who knows? Maybe holding a sword again will do him good.

Suguha, meanwhile, was kneeling by the half-frosted pond in the garden in her navy-blue hakama*, regarding her face in the water. She searched, scouring her reflection with her gaze, only to shake her head softly.

"We really don't look alike…" she whispered to herself. After venting a rather dejected, even confused sigh, she stood and took a ready stance with her shinai, aiming to get some extra practice. Her thoughts swirled angrily, twisted by the frustration and confusion of everything that had happened since the Sword Art Online Incident, and she set them in motion.

"Sei!"

Her brother had been increasingly withdrawn since the end of the sword art online incident, though in all honesty she could hardly blame him. Their — no, _her_ — parents, for he was only their nephew by her mother's sister, had treated him in an awkward way since he'd come home from the hospital, and she herself had been likewise restrained in trying to connect with him, though for a different reason. Her father and mother seemed almost wary of Kazuto, unsure if he was really him or, if he indeed was, how he'd changed inside the death game. They loved him even if they didn't know — she knew that much from the tears of joy on her mother's face and the radiant grin on her father's when they saw him on the doorstep — but they refrained from crowding him in favor of pulling away and giving him space. Now he seemed to be isolating himself from them, failing to respond as he used to and staying in his room most of the time. It worried her.

"Sei!"

As for herself, she didn't care so much about that as the issue that she'd learned but a few weeks before he came home.

"Sei!"

He wasn't her brother.

**"Sei!"**

Not that they weren't blood related. Kazuto was indeed born with Kirigaya blood in his veins, it was simply that he had been born to her aunt, her mother's sister, not her mother herself. It was a little thing, insignificant in so many ways; they were still family, they'd been raised as brother and sister, and they still loved each other… didn't they? It was on the last one that she was the most confused. She loved her onii-chan*, but he wasn't her onii-chan, he was her cousin. She didn't know what to think. Did she still love him? Yes, but she couldn't make up her mind _how_  she loved him. Was he just her onii-chan any more? What _was_  their relationship?

"Sei!"

She desperately wanted to talk to him about it, but she didn't know how to do it. How could she? She could barely look at him without the confusion rearing it's ugly head, and the last thing she wanted was to damage the brother-sister bond they'd had before… but could she really continue like this? Could she act normal around him, even when she saw him every day at breakfast? Could she just ignore that she was unable to decide how she felt towards him?

"Sei!"

She knew in her heart she couldn't. It would drive her mad. As it was, she a part of her liked the thought of him being more than just her "onii-chan…"

"Sei! Sei! _Sei!_   **Sei!"**

She snapped repeatedly, each time swinging her shinai as if to bludgeon those thoughts from her mind. She couldn't think about such things… not yet, not while Kazuto was still recovering — if not physically, then emotionally — from his ordeals. Not while he was so distant from them. She would decide later what he was to her.

Her mind made up, Suguha Kirigaya relaxed and pivoted on her heel to face the porch and the doors back into the greater house before freezing with an awkward squawk.

"Morning Sugu." Kazuto said, sitting there on the porch with a water bottle in one hand and his legs folded crazily in a position that seemed halfway between the Indian-seating position and 'recline' as a faint smile graced his lips. He still hadn't cut his hair back (beyond eradicating the bangs that reduced his visibility to something on par with a mole anyway) from the length it had grown while he was in Aincrad, and while it hadn't really grown in that time, the cascading waterfall of untamed raven-black hair seemed to — if anything — give him a faint feeling of a bishounen, or would have if he tried styling it. As it was, he often left it to hang down to just below his shoulders in a black curtain, only tying it with a rope to keep it out of his way, and thus leaving it with a more unrefined, wild, and even slightly gloomy energy. None of this was lost on Suguha, but in that instant all she could register was that the very person that she'd just spent her daily kendo exercise agonizing over was going _was right there in front of her._

Well **crap.**

"Ah! aga… Good m-morning onii-chan!" she stuttered, so surprised at his sudden appearance (where _did_  he come from any way? The door was closed and the porch was creaky, surely she hadn't been _that_  focused!) that her tongue couldn't immediately decide what sound to produce.

She probably would have remained like that for a good while longer had he not suddenly tossed her the water bottle, forcing her to desperately juggle the shinai* and container of liquid to keep from dropping them. That said… it did force her to focus on something else, so her tongue stopped making an idiot of her.

"Honestly," she sighed in vexation "you could have _said_  something if you were watching Kazuto."

He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah sorry about that," he replied in embarrassment "I wanted too, but you were so into it that it seemed wrong to interrupt."

"Please" she grumbled, sitting down not far away and taking a sip. "It's just habit these days. Comes with repetition."

"I see." He replied, grasping the shinai and holding it in front of him. "You've kept it up all this time then?"

"Yeah. After you quit kendo, I did it to prove… well, to prove to grandfather that I wasn't just a kid. But after the incident…"

"You did it because it was something we did together;" he whispered "because it was a way for you to keep me there with you instead of motionless in a bed, if only in spirit…"

Suguha blinked. "I guess… are you okay bro?"

A sigh. "Yeah, I've just been thinking a lot lately." He paused, a curious expression on his face. "Huh, it's really light."

"Hmm? The shinai? That's not right, it's made of timber bamboo. It's really rather heavy, not light at all."

"Really?" he replied, hefting the practice sword offhand. "Hnnn… guess it's just lighter than I'm used too…"

"Used to…?" she repeated, but before she could gather her thoughts enough to inquire about his strange statement he took a long draught of his own water bottle and left her to either ponder it silently or rudely interrupt. She pondered it, but nothing came to mind when she wondered what kind of weight he'd be familiar with.

A moment's pause filled the space between them, then Kazuto stood sharply.

"Well then, how about we try it out?"

"Wait, you mean an actual match, pads and all? Standard Rules?" She asked, watching him stand and pull a few preliminary stretches to loosen his muscles up.

"Yes, but now that I think about it, let's use No-Contact Rules. Don't want to risk anyone getting too hurt right?"

"Kazuto…" Suguha frowned "If you're worried about being hurt…"

He paused, then cast a bland chuckle into the air and tilted his head to give her an amused looked. "Nah, I'm worried I'll end up hurting you."

Suguha frowned. "Overconfident much? You should be worrying about yourself brother. After all, I was a quarterfinalist in the middleschool nationals and I've been keeping up with my kendo practice. You were asleep for the past two years, and quit Kendo some time before that."

"I don't know," he replied with a faint grin "we'll have to find out won't we? I'll have to dig out grandpa's old Kendo gear… can we use the old dojo?"

"If you want, but don't be surprised when I win."

"As long as you don't complain when I beat you! Sure you don't want me to wait for a year so you can catch up?"

"Oh it is **on!"**

* * *

The Kirigaya Dojo stood in an outbuilding on the grounds of the family homestead. It was here that practitioners of kendo, like Kazuto and Suguha's Grandfather and the teens themselves, performed the majority of their exercises. The polished wooden floor made it easier for sparring. To Kazuto and Suguha, it was a room rich in memories. They'd spent many hours in this selfsame building as children on the initiative of their grandfather, who's own zeal for the art drove him to pass it on to them with an almost religious fervor.

Even now, his memorial rested in the same dojo, watching the two of them as they kneeled in their kendo gear, bowing to each other before taking their shinai up and rising to ready positions. Each wore a bōgu* to protect themselves as required, their faces shielded behind a grate-like mask of metal bars.

Suguha took the standard kendo stance, a two handed grip on the shinai with it held at a roughly 45 degree angle before her, but as her brother took his stance, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Pfft… What kind of a stance is that Kazuto?" She laughed, and for good reason.

It was a strange stance, with the blade held one handed behind him and to the side at a downwards angle, with his left held before him. He stood in a lightly crouched position, tense, but not to the point of being little more than a coiled spring. Rather, it was more relaxed than that. Not totally relaxed — he was visibly tense after all — but just enough that he could flow smoothly.

"Don't worry," he replied "I'm using my own style."

"If you say so… Ready?"

"Uh huh."

A tense silence filled the air between them as they disregarded conversation in favor of examining their opponent. Suguha's eyes narrowed. Kazuto's stance was open, too open. with this shinai's current position, he had no way to parry a strike to his head in a reliable manner. Almost without thinking, she prioritized that area as the target of her opening strike, but caught herself.

_'No, Onii-chan is no fool.'_  She thought, remembering that hint of a grin he'd given her before, like he knew something she didn't. _'He survived-_ ' she suppressed a wince _'-that death game after all. Either he was bluffing about using his own style and is using this stance to lure me in and make me predictable, or he's actually developed his own kendo style without anyone in the family knowing.'_  A frown crossed her face. _'Either way, taking his stance as an amateur's mistake and rushing in would be a huge mistake. Best tread carefully.'_

And so she did, advancing a few cautious, shuffled steps, her eyes on her opponent and more importantly, his feet. Footwork was a very important aspect of kendo, as the positioning of your feet plays a large role in offense, defense, stability, and obviously mobility. If you have bad footwork, you're almost assured to lose in a kendo match.

Now normally, when the opponent advances, you're expected to respond in some manner. Doing so allows for the mutual gauging of each other's combat skill, personality, nerve, and intent. Someone pacing back slightly to maintain the distance would denote caution and patience, while backing up in a panic when you advance is either a coward or totally unprepared. Suguha didn't expect the latter from Kazuto, but if he remembered anything of practical kendo he would have had some reaction to her advance.

He didn't even twitch. For an half-second, she considered the possibility that he'd simply been too tense to to register her change of position or that he'd forgotten everything of kendo, or worse that holding a shinai took him back to that hellish game world. Peering through her barred mask, she beheld his eyes, closed in a tight, frowning expression. For a moment, she could only gaze in confusion, then the pieces clicked.

Her eyes widened. Kazuto wasn't off reliving the death game or attempting to confuse her at all. She'd been right from the start. The death game of Sword Art Online; that world of Aincrad, had affected him alright. Her brother hadn't just survived the game, he lived it even now. He wasn't remaining motionless out of a disregard for kendo practice or an attempt to confuse her at all! His combat instincts, something that would remain true in and out of virtual reality, were simply so well-honed her cautious advance failed to provoke a response. There was no wasted effort in his fighting style, no extra energy expended unnecessarily. If she wanted a response from him she'd have to actually attack him.

Funny thing about analyzing your opponent in combat. It's as much a bout of mental combat as it is gathering information. If you're clever enough, or exceptionally lucky, your can trick your opponent into lowering their guard while they try to pick out your capabilities or make sense of what they're reading from your actions. In that fragment of a second when they focus to much on what you're telling them with your words and body language — when they focus on the _then_  instead of the _now-_  their guard relaxes, producing a tiny opening.

Naturally, the instant Suguha gave him an opening — ironically the same half-second she concluded he wouldn't react without viable aggression — Kazuto charged. His Shinai swept in from the right, and Suguha's own well honed reflexes were the only thing that gave her the speed to react, contorting her body backwards to evade the sweeping wooden edge. She tried to catch him off guard, going for a double handed blow to the head, but he danced back like quicksilver, carving warningly through the air just before her wrists.

Suguha canceled her strike, instead whipping the length of her shinai down and right to parry the third strike from Kazuto, this time a left-side horitzontal sweep that she caught and swept over her head, before going for a lunge that he spun and stepped aside to dodge. As they danced to the pounding of bare feet on wood floor and the clack of meeting shinai, Suguha analyzed her her raven-haired sparring partner's style.

' _He wasn't kidding about having his own style was he?'_  she wondered, twisting past another strike and parrying a second. _'It's an interesting style; control the flow of the fight by dancing in and out of his opponent's range to harass them, and favoring unpredictably chained strikes for attacks and evasion as much as parrying in the way of defensive preferences. It's good, surprisingly good since he has both the speed and reflexes to pull it off, but the strikes themselves are too light, like it's missing something. Additional weight behind the swings might do it, but no shinai has that kind of heft.'_  Unbidden, a frown creased her brow. _'He said it was lighter than he's used too… well now I know why. I don't know where he would find a heavier practice weapon beyond using an actual Katana or even a Tachi*, but that's something for later. Now I know how to beat him. He doesn't have the force to punch through my blocks, and I can punch through his!'_

Feeling she'd taken the measure of his fighting style, Suguha's frown swapped out with a faint, predatory smile. As Kazuto danced back to strike from a different angle, she spun and charged, roaring a warcry as she lashed out, sweeping diagonally with her shinai only for Kirito to dance away, a mocking grin on his face. She replied in kind with furious burst of motion and a second sweep of her katana facsimile along the perpendicular diagonal line, ripping past him like a pouncing cat with her shinai trailing with an audible, almost musical whistle from the wind breezing through the gaps in the bound wood of her shinai. It was the combination of motions — or kendo technique if you preferred the fancy wording of the career kendo practitioners — that earned her her semifinalist position in the middleschool nationals.

The technique was almost impossible for an inexperienced swordsman to beat, as the force of the blow bludgeoned through hard blocks and the angle made parrying and dodging impractical. If her opponent in the semifinals hadn't had a longer reach and superior reflexes to land the blow when she charged… he'd gotten her with a textbook **denbana-waza** ,* but that was neither here now now. As it was, Kazuto had never seen her use this nameless technique, and he hardly had enough of a range or reflex advantage to counter her move. She had him!… or so she thought.

The instant her body tensed in subconscious preparation for her finisher, her Oni-chan was already moving. A twist and a bunching motion of his own, and they respectively exploded into motion. Suguha could only watch, as if in slow motion, as Kazuto bent like a spring and snapped off the ground, carrying himself into a jump that should not have been possible wearing a bōgu, even one without pads. Her shinai danced through empty air beneath him as he rolled past her shoulder, coming down behind her in a solid landing and carrying his twist into a sweeping horizontal strike that would have raked her lower back had she not anticipated it (perhaps her over-analysis of his fighting style before had had some payoff after all?) and caught it with her shinai behind her back, twisting to both parry it away and bring herself around to face him again, catching his follow-up lunge in a block.

They held the block for a moment, gauging each other's strength — kami he was stronger than he looked — before she shoved him back and he leapt away, out of range of any immediate retaliation and setting them back to square one. This time that distance held for but a moment before they rushed together again, Kazuto almost battering through her guard before she managed to rebuff him with a narrowly avoided counterattack.

It was then that Kazuto did something she'd never even imagined being done in a kendo match, let alone seen before. As she attacked again, aiming to keep Kazuto from regaining his footing and start another of his strike-chains again, he flipped his sword into a reverse grip, becoming something more akin to a stance out of an **Iaido** * kata* as he caught her shinai on the angled surface of his own, letting it slide along it's length and away from him before he twisted, ridding the tail end of the force from her blow into a flat spin, which brought his reversed shinai around in a smooth arc towards her exposed side.

For Suguha, time slowed to the approximate pace of molasses in late autumn. It was incredible. Her onii-chan moved like the blade was an extension of his body and flowed around her blows like water, parrying only when he had no other choice or when he deigned to do so. She may have been a semifinalist and the best in her school by a long shot, but he was something else; something terrifying and beautiful at the same time. It was not natural to be that good with a blade, especially for someone who's been asleep for two years! He had instincts she'd only ever seen from people that had been practicing kendo for most of their **lives** ; the kind of instincts that could only come from experience and mindset forged from years with a blade. It took years and years of going through katas and spars to develop instincts even remotely close to those people, and Kazuto's were almost certainly superior in spite of the fact that he hadn't so much as picked up a shinai since grandpa died. Where did he get those reflexes? **How**  did he get them?

That alone was practically beyond her comprehension, but to see the practically unconscious command of kendo he displayed to her combined with his speed, reflexes, strength, the combat instincts that still left her downright unnerved at their very existence, the quite definite existence (as she'd seen firsthand) of an entire kendo style she'd never seen before being used with such skill…

They say you know a person truly when you face them in kendo. She'd thought she knew Kazuto, but this… the grace he had even when jumping around in full bōgu? That was almost inhuman. He'd changed so much; he'd adapted and become something so different yet still so close to the beloved brother she remembered from their days sparring under the watchful eyes of their grandfather…

In that instant, she made her decision. If Kazuto had changed so much she would too, because regardless of what they were now they were siblings once, and until she talked with him and decided for herself what he was to her, that was what they'd stay. In the future they could be anything from cousins to friends to even something closer, but for now, they were brother and sister; siblings, and siblings stuck together. She couldn't do that as she was, that much was clear.

So she'd change.

With that thought dominating her consciousness, Suguha broke her perfect stance and followed her shinai's motion, narrowly evading the tip of Kazuto's shinai and carrying the over-extension into a roll in a way not unlike his own, fluid dodges previous. Her stance returned as she followed the roll to her feet, twisting with shinai ready, but Kazuto had stopped attacking. She wondered for a second why he'd give up a perfect opportunity to keep her on the defensive, but them he caught her eye and gave her an approving nod, paired to a faint, but truly genuine, grin under his mask.

She nodded back, for a moment almost aching in joy. He was happy! She'd made him smile like he'd used to, back before the death game. Then she set herself. _'I've grown too, and it's time to show him how much. He's good, incredible even, but I'm good too. He may have a unique kendo style, instincts, reflexes, and all that, but I made it to the semifinals of the national middleschool kendo championship! I may have to catch up to you…'_ she grinned, tightening her grip on the shinai and shifting it into position her cheekbone, leveling the tip directly at her opponent. Opposite her, Kirito did the same, actually gripping his shinai solidly with both hands for the first time in their match. _'but that doesn't mean I'll give up! Show me how far I am onii-chan, because so help me I'm coming after you!'_

"Haaaaa!"

They rushed together, both screaming their warcries. Kazuto swung up, Suguha swung down. A blaze of alabaster light appeared between them, so blindingly bright they had to look away and the sharp, splintery crack of wood breaking filled the air. When the light disappeared, almost as quickly as it had come, Suguha had her arms knocked above her head and Kazuto's shinai-tip less than an inch from her mask.

He'd won.

A clattering, wooden thud sounded behind to their right, and both of them paused at the sight of the better half of a shinai, sheered unevenly in half like a torn bundle of dry spaghetti lying on the floor. They stared for a moment, gawking as they tried to comprehend the sight, before Suguha brought her shinai… or rather, what was left of it, down to eye level.

To say that her shinai was ruined was putting it mildly. Pretty much all that remained of it was the hilt and a few inches of the haft. At first, it would seem like the thing had broken under stress, for the individual wooden spars bound by the leather ties stood at different lengths at the break, but a close look would reveal instead that it had been sheered cleanly. Each individual spar of wood was broken cleanly as if cloven by an ax, but stood at different lengths and angles because the initial impact of whatever cut it forced the sword to bend slightly, thus leaving each of the spars to be cut at a differing angle instead of on a uniform one.

Suguha gaped at the tattered thing, not noticing Kazuto almost stagger back with a wide-eyed stare directed at his own shinai, at least until his shocked whisper drew her attention. It hadn't been long, merely two words he'd said, but the obvious significance they possessed to him were what caught her.

"{Arms Break}…?"

* * *

It'd taken him about a half an hour to placate Suguha over the loss of her shinai, but he'd honestly expected it to take longer. She'd seemed deep in thought more than anything else, though it took him promising to get her a new carbon-fiber shinai to replace her old one before she stopped seething like an angry cat.

They'd parted ways after that, Kazuto to go to the hospital to see Asuna — after he'd talked to mister Amakasu another government official by the name of Seijirou Kikouka had debriefed him regarding the game, and as thanks for Kirito's statement he'd found out where Asuna'd been admitted for him — and Suguha'd stayed home.

Now he sat in a chair by the bedside, absently clenching and unclenching his fist as he gazed out the window. It couldn't be, could it? There was no doubt in his mind that that flash of light that had broken Suguha's shinai been {Arms Break}, but that couldn't be possible. He was in the real world for one, and {Arms Break} was an extra skill he'd used in Sword Art Online. He shouldn't be able to use it in real life at all!

Had the entire time since he'd woken up been nothing but a cruel joke? No, that wasn't it. This was the real world, he knew that in his gut, not to mention the fact that that strange man had called him a "king" of some kind. If Kayaba — Morpheus — whoever he was — had planned to torture him by tricking him into believing he'd escaped the game, he wouldn't have left such obvious flaws in the deception. But if that was true and he was in the real world, how could he use [Arms Break]? It was too strange.

"Strange…" he whispered, the pieces starting to fall together.

Touma Amakasu. He'd called him a 'campione,' and that had been strange. Not as strange as an extra skill from SAO manifesting in real life, but strange. Strange enough that maybe, just maybe, he could answer his questions after all. That's what he'd given him the card for in the first place after all.

Kazuto took a deep breath and reached over, squeezing Asuna's limp hand as she slept. They said she couldn't feel anything, but he knew otherwise. Even if the nerve gear blocked her body's senses, he knew that they could feel each other.

"I haven't fulfilled my promise yet, have I Asuna?" He said softly, bringing it up to his chest. "I promised I'd bring you back to the real world, and I'm not stopping until it's done."

He set her hand back down, standing to look out the window. If Amakasu's answers brought him closer to fulfilling his promise to Asuna, then what was he waiting for? Decision made, he took out his phone and the card, bent from the duration of it's stay in his wallet, and dialed the number. It rang, then stopped.

"Mr. Amakasu? This is Kazuto Kirigaya. I'm ready for those answers."

* * *

**Glossary**

Onigiri: Also known as riceballs, Onigiri are a traditional japanese dish consisting of cooked rice seasoned lightly with salt wrapped around a filling ranging from a pickled japanese plum to salmon all bound up in a dried seaweed wrapping.

Shinai: A weapon used for practice and competition in kendo. Straight and made of wooden spars bound tightly with strips of leather, with a padded tip to soften blows.

Hakama: A kind of traditional Japanese clothing often worn over a kimono (no I'm not explaining that one; if you don't know it, look it up yourself) and coming in the style of either divided or undivided legs. Hakama appear similar to a pair of trousers or a skirt, and an orange-hued rendition of the undivided kind are standard uniform for mikos (or shrine priestesses) but are also common among kenjustu (sword-technique) practitioners, of which kendo is but one.

Oni-cha — No. Just no.

Dojo: A formal gathering place for students of any Japanese Martial Arts style such as karate, judo, or kendo, to conduct training, examinations and other related encounters.

Bōgu: Literally translating to "protective equipment," the bōgu is a partial armor that covers the head and upper body with padding to blunt the blows of a sparring partner's shinai.

Tachi: meaning "big sword," a large version of a traditional katana with a greater curve. Obviously a heavier blade than a katana.

Denbana-Waza: one of the six shikake-waza (meaning "to initiate a strike") of Kendo techniques, and it involves striking your opponent as they are about to strike. Effectively, this is a preemptive strike instead of a counterattack, made preceding your opponent's shikake-waza but not qualifying as an **oji-waza** , or counter-attack.

Iaido: the art of sword drawing, Iaido focuses on smooth and controlled movements and the path of the blade from it's scabbard to striking a person or object, cleaning removing blood or detrius from the blade, and returning the blade to the scabbard.

Kata: another word for "form," or in relation to kendo and similar arts "an individual training exercise."

* * *

_ Divine Authority Briefing _

** Kirito **

**[Perchance to Dream]**

**[Perchance to Dream: Dreamwalker]**

Aria: Ere my steps take me to that restless world, for I am the Dreamwalker!

Much the same as Morpheus's original authority of the same name, [Dreamwalker] allows the user to enter the dreams of others or completely astralize and enter the dream plane. This includes dreamscapes such as SEEDMMOs, and due the dilated temporal mechanics of the dream plane has the potential to allow for instantaneous godspeed travel to anyone who's mind he has touched before.

Status:

As of now, Kirito's body has not yet adapted enough to the authority to allow him complete astralization. Currently, he is only capable of entering the dreams of a sleeping individual he is in physical contact with, and even then only in a mental sense, not a physical sense.

**[Perchance to Dream: World Seed]**

Aria: The greatest artist is the dreamer, for it is in the mind that the seeds of worlds are born!

A modification of the original [Dream Weaver] authority derived from Morpheus's divine authority over dreams and the subconscious, [World Seed] is an authority derived instead from the god's incarnation as Kayaba Akihiko, compared to his original roots. The primary difference is the more modern accent to it, including it's interpretation as a kind of "hacking" or "coding" system compared to the previous "weaving" Morpheus was said to use as a medium. After all, the brain is a kind of organic computer isn't it?

[World Seed] grants the user the ability to manipulate the dream plane and/or subconscious mind of a target, ranging from the creation of shared dreamscapes such as Aincrad to the twisting of preexisting dreamscapes, such as those created by a sleeping mortal. Additionally, it allows for the translation of these divine spaces into a kind of "conceptual grimoire" of digital code, much like Kayaba did with the NERV gear. This manipulation takes the form of "hacking the code of the dream," as is fitting of Kirito's affinity for electronics. It is far from a skeleton key however, as he will face varying degrees of resistance from a mind or dream he is "hacking" according to the individual's mental and magic strength, willpower, and preparedness for such a maneuver.

Status:

Kirito is currently only able to utilize the passive benefits of this authority, which consists of an instinctive comprehension of digital coding, and a subconscious capacity with such coding as regards to writing, hacking, and otherwise working with it.

**[Perchance to Dream: Waking Dream]**

Aria: Fantasy and Reality's borders blurred; To me, this entire world is naught but a Waking Dream!

A total replacement of Morpheus's "Face of Humanity" authority, [Waking Dream] grants Kirito the ability to physically incarnate something from a dreamworld in a temporary fashion. He achieves this by generating a divine space in which dreams are real. This authority is notable in that the power of the incarnate dream varies according to a formula not unlike the formula that seems to be used to calculate the power of a heretic god. This, and the fact that using the authority puts in inordinate amount of stress on the emission point (his physical body or avatar), and draws a lot of magical power limits both the extent to which — and the amount of time he can direct it. These are unfortunate limitations, but they may also simply be signs of his avatar body not yet being totally adapted to the authority. Finally,

The formula mentioned in the prior paragraph is **[Legend x (FaithM + FaithP)]**  with _Legend_  being mythical power of the incarnation, _FaithM_  being sum total of the acknowledgement, worship, and/or belief-in the legend by living individuals and _FaithP_  being sum total of individuals who fulfilled those same requirements but are now dead. Naturally, living followers are worth much more (the multiplier is currently unknown at this time, and so remains unlisted) than dead followers, but possess a flexibility in that they can change whether or not they follow the myth, and that they can change it by interpreting it differently. It was in this manner that gods gained new incarnations, such as Zeus becoming Jupiter and Ishtar becoming Aphrodite. Please note that while it is possible to summon a dream from an individual, unless it is a perfectly imagined replicae of a magical weapon, or authority, it is unlikely to possess any real kick against a heretic god on account of the faith pools being simply too weak.

Kirito is capable of manifesting the authority with the aria or wordlessly as a either a partial incarnation (such as one or two skills or items) , a small divine space (effectively an area of space in which his authority forces reality to share with or obey a selected set of rules drawn from his chosen Seedworld, or partial reality marble), or a complete reality marble (I.E. the total overwriting of reality to follow the rules of a given dreamscape).

Attempting to exceed the listed limit may well cause internal damage to the user as his avatar body draws on it's own mass, converting it into dreamstuff and anima to fuel the authority. Thankfully, it will cancel upon unconsciousness, so death simply from maintaining the authority is nigh impossible.

The duration system for Waking Dream is mathematical, with each second a given meter of divine space is maintained expending a number of units of the authority's fuel, "Anima." Kirito's Anima reserves and rate of regeneration, as well as the exact rates he expends anima using the authority, are subject to change as his avatar body adapts to the authority. Rates are listed in AMS, or Animi Per Meter/Second, with a measured meter being radial, not diameterical. As a partial manifestation is internalized, it's rate is listed as Anima per Second.

Please note that anima continues to regenerate even while the authority is in use but doesn't actually enter the pool until after the authority is deactivated. and that rates in parenthesis are for casting without the Aria.

Furthermore, note that the Partial manifestation option covers the cost of 5 individual skills or attributes augmented by the authority.

Status:

Anima Pool: 20,000

Partial Manifestation Anima per Second for five specific skills/attributes: 55 (140)

Default AMS: 90 (300)

Reality Marble AMS: 200 (800)

Anima regenerated per second: .5 (under 12 hours to pool recovery)

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's that! The filler chapter is done. Took long enough too…
> 
> Alright! for those of you who have been itching to know Kirito's Authorities, there you are! I hope they are explained to your satisfaction. For now, I'll be posting them as they come in chapters and giving updates on them as his avatar adapts via a kind of footnote like the one above, but if requested I'll supply a dedicated thread on the "Court of the Devil Kings" Forum, under Campione, or a dedicated chapter.
> 
> As of now, I will probably be reviewing the prior two chapters and making edits to better characterize Kayaba and Kirito both, provided my muse doesn't drag me off on another of it's tangents. Eh, left at the mercy of the muse, what can you do about it really?
> 
> Now, for the important question… do I make this harem, Kirito/Asuna, or neglect the romance aspect entirely? To vote, go to my profile and vote on the pole. If you chose "other" please label your PM "CoD Chap. 2 Poll statement" So I don't have to go hunting my inbox.
> 
> And for a special surprise, I'm sure you've all noticed that this fanfic has new coverart! Will that make up for my regrettable delay in posting this darn chapter?
> 
> Next chapter? Well, let's see this little adventure start to pick up shall we?


	4. Exchange of Information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Minor Revision Marker 9/10/24**
> 
>  
> 
> Nope, don't own the source materials, just doing the world a favor by mixing them.
> 
> And here's the last of the chapters, which puts this story current to it's ff.net counterpart. I hope you all enjoy it as much as they seem to be.

Of all the things Yuri Mariya was expecting on a crisp morning in the beginning of December, it wasn't a call from Mr. Amakasu of the History Compilation Committee. Even less expected was his request for her attendance at a meeting regarding the rumors about the eighth Campione. Sure there'd been a number of rumors regarding the mysterious figure, and Godou had been noticeably… well "itchy"was hardly the best word for it, even if it was the first to come to mind. Ever since Lancelot's defeat and Black Prince Alec's return to England, he'd been a tiny bit off, like something was distracting him. When asked, he'd responded that it was nothing, just a slight headache… until one day in November when he'd suddenly jerked up violently in class, head snapping around towards the window with a look on his face they'd only seen when he battled heretic gods. Unfortunately, the motion drew a warning from the teacher and he very narrowly missed a detention when he barely suppressed the expression as he turned to answer the waspish query his teacher demanded as to what was so interesting outside.

When asked at lunch what provoked _that_  reaction, Godou had then replied that — for the briefest instant — he'd sensed a divine authority activate within Tokyo and that, combined with everything that had happened in the last couple months, had led him to overreacting. This naturally led to them calling the Mister Amakasu to confirm the presence of a heretic god within the city, but he'd replied that he could assure them that there was indeed no heretic god in the city and that there had not been one since Lancelot fell.

That had been only a couple of days ago, and now the HCC was calling her in for a meeting of some kind? They hadn't done that since she became accepted as a part of Godou's… well the word "harem" came to mind. It could just be a coincidence, or perhaps they'd found something? Regardless, that was something to find out at the meeting itself. She'd already called called Ena and and Hikari and confirmed that they'd been called, which made sense considering they were important members of the committee as well. For a moment, she wondered why Godou Liliana, and Erica weren't called, but Godou had said he wanted to spend a few days in the start of December with his sister, and the latter two had no real affiliations with the History Compilation Committee beyond their position in Godou's domain of influence — wow it felt funny to think of her precious king so much as having a "sphere of influence" they way he acted. She sighed shaking her head as she finished sweeping the last vestiges of the fall leaves from the path of the shrine. Why did she have to fall for such a lecherous king? Granted he was a man, and a slayer of gods, but was it impossible for him to restrain his lewd impulses? On the other hand, if he did, would she have even met him? Erica Blandelli had been with him when he slew Verenthraga after all, and if he was more restrained, would he not have simply stayed with her instead of allowing Yuri herself to join them?

Something worth considering. Perhaps she was missing a part of the picture?

Ah well, if nothing else, this curious meeting the committee called would be interesting. Suddenly called meetings always were, since they almost always came with emergencies.

* * *

That afternoon, Yuri Mariya stood with her fellow Hime-Miko around a large traditional Japanese table in the HCC's branch headquarters in Tokyo, a room doubtlessly selected as a concession to she and her fellows' comfort, but still a generous one.

Typically, the organization would be holding a meeting in a more modern conference room or simply use a traditional estate provided by one of the four families or even a shrine, but for some reason they'd chosen here instead. It was an unusual hybrid of the two really, as even with the table set in a dojo standing over a rooftop garden on the peak of a skyscraper, it was impossible to miss the feeling of harsh, merciless concrete and circuitry between oneself and the earth or the muted sounds of the city far below, filled to the brim with modern buildings stretching to the horizon. It was disconcerting to one who tended a shrine; who swept it's steps and cobblestone path with a twig broom and felt the earth around them as if it was a living thing every day. Even so, the place was definitely secure and safe for a discussion of this nature, though frankly anyone not associated with the magical side of the world probably wouldn't really get anything out of it.

Between the feel of the building and the fact that all three of the Hime-Miko present were sharing space with their effective superior, an aggravating jokester of a hime-miko by the name of Kaoru Sayanomiya. Normally, they'd have just avoided the red-haired menace, but the necessity of waiting for Touma and anyone else who may be set to arrive a few minutes ago (it was unlike that man to make them wait too) and her position as heir of one of the four houses that serve as the foundation of the HCC, the Sayanomiya Clan, gave them little choice.

The fact that she'd chosen to crossdress for the meeting (something she typically only did in social functions or when meeting new people) wasn't helping either, though it did evoke a few questions. Curse that woman's prankster gene, it must have been far to enjoyable for her to see their annoyance when she shook off their questions and only give them vague answers about why she was crossdressing at a formal (albeit rather suddenly called) meeting.

Trapped in a room with a playful Kaoru Sayanomiya. Maybe hell was a place on earth after all.

Yuri was probably being unfair to the heiress, but it was hard to feel so when she was so massively superior to them all. Not only was the crimson-maned hime-miko a near-witch with her polymath level spiritual abilities and second only to Ena in raw power (power she didn't make a contract with a lesser god to attain at that), she was heir to the Sayanomiya clan, the family amongst the four core clans that founded the HCC back in the Meiji Era and the chief of the HCC's Tokyo branch. That's a lot of power and prestige in the hands of someone willing to crossdress to confuse people she hasn't even met yet, especially spiritual power. Sure, Yuri herself possessed more skill in Spirit Vision* and Ena's divine possession ability definitely had more raw power, but Kaoru was inarguably superior as a "jack of all trades" in any given situation.

Thank heavens she hadn't set her sights on Godou. Yuri honestly worried that if she did, Godou's weakness towards women would end with her being replaced in his circle by the heiress. Even now, she worried that the heiress would corrupt her dear little sister into a prankster like herself. There she was now, explaining to Hikari why she was dressed like a guy. In a week Hikari would likely be plotting malicious schemes and pranks on everything in sight… save Godou. Even she knew better than to prank a Campione, though with her crush it probably wouldn't even enter her mind.

It was worrisome when a perverted supreme devil king who kept a harem of powerful women was a **good**  influence on your sister.

Whatever further thoughts Yuri might have had from that point on however were interrupted by the sliding rice-paper door opening, admitting Mr. Amakasu "The Ninja" Touma and — more interestingly — a young Japanese teen with black hair and obsidian eyes to match.

"Ah hello everyone, my apologies for keeping you waiting, but I felt it necessary to explain to our honored guest some of the history of the Committee. If you will all take your seats, we can begin with the introductions directly."

As requested, everyone took their seats around the table in seiza position and Amakasu nodded respectfully, his smile not forced, yet still abnormally rigid, as if he was overcompensating with false cheer. But why would he…?

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. I'll perform the introductions. As you all know, my name is Amakasu Touma, and these lovely ladies here are Yuri Mariya, Ena Seishuiin, Hikari Mariya, and Kaoru Sayanomiya. All of them Hime-Miko under the purview of the Historical Compilation Society. Miss Sayanomiya and Miss Seshuiin are both heirs their respective clans as well."

Kirito's eyes widened slightly at the revelation that Kaoru was in fact a girl, as she looked nothing like it. Kaoru just pouted, though there was a hint of a smile in her expression at Kirito's face when he realized what Mr. Touma had said.

"Ladies, allow me the foremost honor of officially introducing for the first time in history his majesty Kazuto Kirigaya, the Eighth Campione."

You couldn't cut the silence pervading the room following this statement with an electric saw. Yuri herself was so shocked she honestly couldn't form words for a moment, while Ena and Kaoru eyed the subject of the declaration with a mix of both interest and speculation. Tension skyrocketed with each passing moment of reticence. Nobody moved.

Of course it fell to Hikari to break the silence, which she did with much enthusiasm, practically exploding with questions as she undoubtedly forgot the first lesson her sister had pounded into her. Do not aggravate a Campione, especially an unknown. Nations have burned for less.

"The Eighth Campione's Japanese?! When did you ascend? What heretic did you kill? How old are you? You don't look any older than Godou-sama. Do you have any prior magical awareness? Are you a hen-"

 **"Hikari."**  Yuri hissed, both mortified and terrified at her little sister's gall.

Kazuto was pale, though it couldn't be said if it was from the younger sibling's inquisitional onslaught or something else, and took a shaky breath before he held up a hand. "Hang on a second, before I answer any of those questions, would it be to much to ask for some explanations of my own? I came here to get my questions answered, not suffer the spanish inquisition."

Amakasu cleared his throat, almost sweating for a moment from the fear that the younger Mariya might have offended the young devil king, before replying.

"Yes, my apologies for that. As you can see the youngest Mariya sibling is still only a hime-miko in training, and possesses a fascination with Campione like yourself, as she has already been saved by one. Do forgive her impetuosity your majesty. I hope she has not offended or harmed you in any way?"

Kirito paused for a moment, then sighed, his face cracking a sad smile. "No, no it's not that at all. It's just that for a moment, she looked like my daughter."

"Your… daughter?" Ena asked.

Yuri barely kept from rolling her eyes. Once again, the Miko of the Sword's curiosity overwhelmed her sense of propriety, as it was was known to do far to often. You'd think with her position, she'd pay more attempt to social graces… but no, thinking about it, being the most powerful Hime-Miko in japan had to have it's privileges, and she would have done the same herself had she that power. As for the eighth campione having a daughter… that was interesting. He seemed so young, and to draw a parallel between Hikari and his supposed daughter… how was that possible?

Realizing her mind was roaming, Yuri dragged her attention back to the scene in time to catch the black-clad teen shake himself, and nod. "Yeah…" he replied, staring down into his hands, fingers curling slightly. "Yui Kirigaya."

Unbeknownst to him, Hikari looked to Yuri with an expression asking why the eighth campione was so sad, what happened to his daughter? Yuri's answering hand on her shoulder and the sad shake of her head, however, made it all to clear. Hikari shuddered, stifling a gasp at the realization. At the same time Ena grit her teeth, fighting an her impulse to disregard etiquette and do something incredibly foolish, like reach over and hold the _extremely dangerous god-slaying supreme devil king's_  hand, and instead settled for sharing the look between Kaoru and Amakasu, begging them to do something before she did. Thankfully, they caught the message and Amakasu ended the awkward moment.

"Ahem, yes" The man known amongst his colleagues as 'the ninja' coughed, "I do believe it is time we answered your questions your highness."

"Kazuto."

"I'm sorry your majesty?"

"Please, call me Kazuto or at least Mr. Kirigaya, at least until you've explained why you feel the need to call me that in the first place. I'd rather this be overly informal than stiflingly formal"

Yuri sighed. The others though, paused to regard him thoughtfully. Amakasu smiled.

"Certainly young master Kazuto, would there be anything else before we get started?"

Kazuto's corresponding sigh managed to draw a stifled giggle from Hikari, but he ignored it, replying: "Well, yes. I know you're government and all and that this whole meeting to explain what's going on since I woke up from SAO is probably just your job, but I know from a number of SAO survivors that there were government investigators asking questions about what happened in the game. I don't know if you're related to that group, but even if it's only a chance to avoid favoritism, I'd like to offer my own account of the events of the incident as well as answer what questions you might have. Would that be acceptable?"

There was a long pause as those present reconciled the disparity between the boy's request and the expected behavior of any member of that exclusive club known as the supreme devil kings. A beat, two beats, three beats, and an exasperated sigh escaped Amakasu of all people.

"Of course, I should have seen it coming." he muttered "Trust the eighth campione to be as unexpected as the seventh. It must have something to do with the water in this country. Every single campione from this land simply refuses to act as you expect them to."

"I'm sorry…?"

Noticing Kazuto's confusion, Amakasu waved his hand in dismissal and sat back, chuckling blithely. "There's no need to apologize at all Mister Kirigaya, I'm simply enjoying the unusual situation we find ourselves in. Never apologize for being yourself. You need never accept shame for that."

"Okay…?"

"Now then! I believe we've delayed this moment of revelations long enough wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, better to get this over with before Sugu starts worrying. I told her I was going out, but that I'd be home before dinner." Here he paused, "She'll worry if I take too long."

"Very well then, I suppose the best way to explain is to jump right in. Your highness — and yes I do have to use the appellation — Magic is real, as are gods. there are various practitioners of magic and types of magic, including hime-miko spirit gifts, sorcerery, alchemy, Daoist Arts, etc. All of them are powerful, as are their wielders, but at the top of the mountain that is magical power, there lie only two practitioners: Heretic Gods, or gods that have forsaken their legend and come to earth in a physical form, wield their magics in the form of divine authorities, power over reality that cannot be superseded by any other magic. Mortals wielding magic are indeed capable of defying reality, but to them it is not a fundamental aspect of their abilities. Mortals must use various methods, be it supplication of a god or intermarrying with supernatural entities or the unravelling the secrets of the universe and manipulating the foundations of reality with tools. Heretic Gods, meanwhile, simply **can**. To them, it is as natural as breathing. It is their right, while to mortals it is only a privilege granted to those who have earned it by one means or another. Heretic Gods are so powerful that they are immune to mortal magic, and can only be slain by a power of equal authority, leaving mortal means practically useless. To face a heretic god is to die.

Naturally, it is impossible for us mortals to grasp this power, as our bodies are simply incapable of withstanding the force and die in the attempt. Yet in spite of this, the possibility remains. There are some mortals, vanishingly rare though they may be, insane enough to face a heretic god. More important than that though, there exist among that number a handful of mortals that succeed.

They are godslayers, devils, supreme and unrivaled kings, for they have slain a god and in the process been reborn with the power to wield the authorities of the gods they have slain. Immune to mortal magic, with bones unbreakable and a body of divine craft, there is literally nothing of mortal form that can stand against them. Born from the ritual of Pandora, the witch who opened the box, they are Campione; destined ever to face heretic gods as their natural foe."

"And you have just recently joined their ranks, Kazuto Kirigaya." Kaoru said, seamlessly joining the conversation. "You are the Eighth Campione."

Kirito's face was impassive, but it was plain that he was unsure how to take this supposed revelation. He looked from Amakasu to the Sayanomiya heiress, back to Amakasu, at each of the hime-miko sitting around the table, then back to Amakasu again. After a long moment, he took a deep breath. "I assume the number is of some significance?"

"Yes,"He replied, folding his hands "Campione often become known by one or more titles over the course of their lifetimes based on their exploits and abilities, but first and foremost they are known by their age as a campione. As you are the currently the youngest living Godslayer of Eight alive, you are the Eighth Campione."

"If I may Mr. Touma?" Yuri said, turning to request permission to add her own words to the explanation.

"Eh? Ah yes Miss Mariya, feel free to add to the conversation."

Yuri nodded and turned to Kazuto. "The initial numeric title of the campione has some history behind it. The numeric title indicates the current placement of a given campione amongst his peers in terms of age, so if a campione of a higher number died the lower numbers would move up. This also serves as a semi-accurate system of gauging overall power, as older campione will have often fought more heretic gods and thus possess more authorities, nevermind the fact that we have proven via observation that a campione's body becomes able to draw more power from stolen authority the longer it is in their possession.

For the past few hundred years, Godslayers have been so few in number that there were at most six in the entire world. Before that, Campione often died in combat with Heretic Gods. Earlier this year, that changed with the birth of Godou Kusanagi, the seventh campione, in the slaying the Zoroastrian God of Victory, Verenthraga, in Sicily."

"Tell me about him, please." Kazuto asked earnestly, desperate to gain information on someone like him, if for no reason than so he didn't feel so isolated. He'd already accepted the fact that he was not normal anymore. After that moment in the dojo when he broke Suguha's shinai, he knew something was different, that he was different. He'd felt the unnatural — or supernatural as the case may be — power in that moment. He didn't know what he was, but he knew that he was something. He'd felt it, just as he'd felt Amakasu and the priestesses in the room before him knew what he was, and were telling the truth. It resonated with him, somehow. Like the echoes of a song he'd heard before but couldn't make out.

That's how he knew to accept Yuri's words as she continued.

"He is, like you, a Japanese citizen and possesses a similar age. However, he is different from other campione in that he behaves nothing like one would expect a campione to. He is not arrogant or demanding, as is their right. Nor is he particularly hungry for power or callous, as many tend to be. That is to what Amakasu-san referred before when he spoke of Japan producing strange campione. I myself am one of his-" here, she blushed faintly and hesitated for a moment, as if trying to find the right words "well, the best description would be that I am an aid to him in his endeavors, as is Ena, but we are more than that. In addition to whatever rolls he chooses for us, we serve as links to the Historical Compilation Committee. This means that even as we are in service to him, so is he connected to us in a way that leaves us and our organization in his good graces. Also, this arrangement effectively buys his protection, something all to valuable in the magical world, as only campione are capable of preventing the calamities of a heretic god's rampage or another campione setting their sights on us. This leads to Campione becoming the effective ruler of a given territory, with campione only rarely daring to enter another's. Most campione, being what can best be described as divine alpha predators, are solitary and usually do not mix well, which leads to conflict."

"So they just… sent you to serve him?" he asked, looking slightly appalled.

"Oh no your highness, while most campione would have no qualms with such practices — and I speak from bitter personal experience regarding such things — Godou-sama is a great man, though he has his flaws as much as anyone else. Some would say that to be a campione, you must inherently be… well, different from a normal human, since no mere human would dare try to kill a god. Rather, Godou would not have anyone serve him who desired otherwise. He is… terribly humble, for a campione."

"Sounds like a nice guy. You're lucky."

Yuri managed a faint smile. "Thank you your majesty. He has his flaws, but even they do not change how remarkable he is. You see, Godou-sama knew nothing of the magical world three days before he slew Verenthraga."

"He slew a god with no knowledge of magic at all?"

"As far as I know, yes; granted I wasn't there so I cannot speak as a witness, but Erica — another ally of Godou's from the Magical Association known as the Coppper-Black Cross — could. She may embellish the story though, if only to protect Godou-sama by painting him to another campione as stronger than he is. As for his lack of magical knowledge… Did your majesty know of magic when he became a Campione?"

"If you mean real magic like the kind you do, then no. The extent of my magical knowledge at the time would be consist of what was in fiction and videogames I've been exposed too, unless you count SAO's Sword Skills."

"Sword Skills?"

"The primary medium of attack in the Sword Art Online Game." Amakasu supplied helpfully, enjoying the relaxed conversation between a newborn campione and another campione's 'aid' with a smile on his lips. "Considering they're part of the game, I think we can rule those out."

"Right. You were saying Miss Mariya?"

"Yes your majesty. Like Godou-sama, you became a campione for slaying a heretic god with no apparent prior knowledge of magic. The difference between the two of you, however, lies in that while Godou slew Verenthraga in the real world, you slew whatever heretic you faced while inside the Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Game, 'Sword Art Online'.

From the examination of the nerve gear, we believe it was Akihiko Kayaba, the game's creator and the one responsible for the SAO incident, that was the heretic god, but we cannot discern his reasons or his exact divinity. Witness statements from players present for the final battle confirm that it was indeed Kayaba, but beyond that many are giving conflicting reports or simply breaking down when questioned. A common thread remains in you being the one to slay the god, however, and that brings us here."

"Forgive me, this is a bit hard to take in." Kirito replied. "If I hadn't noticed the strange goings on around me recently, I'd probably be laughing. That said… How does that work anyway? Is it possible to become a Campione if you don't die killing a heretic god?"

"Eheh… You kind of did?" Hikari squeeked out.

That stopped conversation like a bird hitting a window. Hikari shrunk into herself a bit at the silence, and the others watched Kirito cautiously, trying to figure out how he would take it. The young campione was silent for a moment, then the pieces came together, and he nodded, looking for all the world like he wanted to smack himself in the face at his inability to see the blatantly obvious. "Of course, that would make sense. Kayaba and I died impaled on each other's arms, and even if that did kill him, the nerve gear would have cooked my brain into meatloaf."

Amakasu wisely ignored the unappetizing mental picture that painted, though the rest (even Kaoru) couldn't help but grimace.

"Yes, that seems to indeed be what happened too." Amakasu said apologetically "The hospital's computer recorded your lifesigns flat lining the instant the rest of the players woke up, and with all the chaos from seeing to the patients, they were still hooked up to you five hours later when you awoke in your new body. There can be no doubt your highness, you are the Eighth."

"That certainly leaves that question out of the way. So I'm a campione, what does that mean exactly?"

"Physically, you were dead and reborn in a new body created by Pandora to be able to handle your newly claimed authorities. Physically, you will age at an extremely slow pace, and your body is in peak physical condition, devoid of any scars or flaws acquired from birth. Your skin is effectively impermeable to mortal magic, and your bones, if they can be broken at all, will endevour to snap back into place as easily as that american toy, what was it?"

"K'nex!"

"Ah thank you Hikari. I always forget it's name. Still, it is one of the best analogs for it."

"So… I'm effectively a superhuman now?"

"To an extent. Your strength is amplified by this new body, but not nearly enough to play superman. The greatest benefit you gain from it is the ability to channel the divine authorities you acquire from heretic gods, like the one you slew in SAO. Typically, this requires an aria or incantation to activate, but a campione possesses an innate knowledge of the authorities they possess, and the arias for them."

At Kazuto's thoughtful expression, Ena perked up. "Ohhhh! you've used an authority since you woke up! what was it like? Can you show us?"

"No no, nothing like that. I don't know of any arias or authorities, but something strange did happen yesterday."

"Oh? Do tell." Kaoru said.

"Well, I was sparring with my cousin Sugu. We were in my grandfather's dojo, and during the spar our shinai clashed in a particular way. There was this flash of light, and when it vanished, I'd somehow broken Sugu's shinai in half, like it'd been cut with an ax."

"Interesting, and you didn't say an aria, or anything of the kind?"

"Nothing. There was just the swing, the light, the crack of wood splintering, and then the broken shinai."

"I see. And nothing comes to mind with regards to seeing this before?"

"N — well, thinking about it, it felt a lot like an extra skill from SAO, {Arms Blast}. The technique isn't truly a skill you'd find on a list alongside swordskills per say, just an outside system skill that anyone could do if they understood how, but if you used a sword skill and struck right it allowed you to cleanly break your enemies weapon with a single blow. Not sure if that helps."

"From a standpoint of finding out what authorities you possess, no it doesn't. Do you remember what Kayaba called himself? What god he claimed to be?"

Kirito's face tightened. "Yeah, all to well. He called himself Morpheus."

"The Greek god of Dreams?" Ena cut in curiously.

"That's right. He certainly _looked_  the part."

Amakasu looked thoughtful. "Hmmm… perhaps…"

"Perhaps what?"

"Well you see Miss Mariya here is a hime miko gifted with incredibly powerful Spirit Vision, an ability derived from her ancestors intermarrying with a campione like yourself or another essence of divinity, and that allows her to draw upon the memories of the netherworld, letting her see things otherwise undetectable, or prophesy. Perhaps she can discern your authorities?"

"I'm not sure… a part of me doesn't even want this. I don't want to have to deal with gods and devil kings and politics and magic, I just want to see Asuna again."

"Asuna…?" Yuri repeated softly, "your lover?"

"My wife." he replied softly, earning the surprised looks of the rest of the group. "We got married in Aincrad. I promised her I'd get her home safe, and I guess one thing led to another and we got married."

"It sounds romantic, a brave knight swearing an oath to bring his fair maiden safely home from a land of monsters…"

Kirito snorted, trying to stifle a laugh. "If she heard you call her a fair maiden, she'd probably swat you with her rapier."

"Ah, a warrior then, like yourself?"

"Yeah, I met her on the first floor boss raid. We fought really well together, and she had a gift for it in spite of SAO being her first online game. After the first floor, I fought alone for a long while, and when we saw each other again, she'd become the second in command of the knights of the blood oath, the strongest player organization in the game. Now and again we ended up getting involved in adventures together, and I suppose you could say we fell in love to the clamor of swords and shields. We saved each others' lives countless times, and eventually after I was nearly murdered by a traitor and Asuna saved me, I realized that there was no other option. We swore to get back to the real world, and sealed it with rings."

Unbeknownst to him, several of Godou's harem cast glances between each other, drawing a mental picture of Asuna as some kind of Japanese Erica. Ena smirked thinking 'I can't wait to tell this story to Liliana, this is right up her alley.' "You had a happy ending then? Just looking to find her here in the real world now?"

"No, I found her weeks ago." He replied, hair obscuring his eyes as he clenched his fists against his knees. "In the battle with Kayaba, she intercepted an attack that, had it hit me, would have undoubtedly been a fatal blow." A gasp escaped several of the group, and Amakasu grimaced. Seeing their faces, Kazuto held up a hand placatingly.

"No no… She's not dead, but she is among one of the 300 players who haven't awakened from the SAO incident. Even with medical assistance, there's only so much atrophy a body can take before it just… gives up. Seeing Asuna lie in that hospital bed, pale and thin… I can't let that stand. I swore to her I'd get her back to the real world, and if a god couldn't stop me, then nothing will. it's only a matter of time. And when I find the one who did this…" he snarled, then relaxed, leaving the statement unfinished.

Everyone was silent for a long moment at that, but eventually Ena nodded. "Such is the fate of those who dare incur the wrath of a devil king."

"Eh?"

"Oh your highness, you would not be the first campione to exact severe judgement on one who has wronged you, even in the modern age alone."

"You mean there are tales of stuff like this happening before?"

"There's a reason modern magus associations are **very**  careful to avoid angering campione, to the point of offering them concubines and aiding them whenever possible. Atlantis is an example."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Anyway, as much as I want to hear the full tale of your life inside SAO, I believe Yuri needs to do her eye thing."

Yuri rolled her eyes, a long suffering sigh escaping her lips. "Ennnaaaaaa…"

"Oh come on Yuri, we both know you love it when I call it that."

"I did when we were kids! Not now and in front of a Campione that isn't even Godou!"

"Ladies, please." Amakasu cut in, ignoring Hikari's snickering and Kaoru's facepalm. "His highness has appointments to keep, and we have much to cover before this meeting is over."

"Sorry Amakasu-san."

"Yuri, if you would?"

"Yes Amakasu-San."

Yuri turned solemnly to Kazuto, swallowing. "May I begin your highness?"

"Guuuuhh… go ahead."

Yuri nodded, and stared hard at the raven-haired newborn devil king, as if focusing on him tightly enough would let her gaze punch right through his mortal coil and into the realm of the spirit.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Kirito waited patiently, watching Yuri's eyes carefully… and was indeed rewarded when he beheld them changing color from her normal brown hue to a shimmering, unnatural green that was almost eerie. So this was spirit vision? So strange…

Just then, Yuri gasped, bringing her hand to her lips as she actually retreated a bit. As quickly as it had come, the magical hue of her eyes vanished and she sagged slightly, mercifully caught by Ena and her little sister.

"Amazing…" the dazed Hime-Miko gasped. "An authority — no, three authorities folded into one… like Verenthraga's incarnations, but yet so different. To think that a god of something so insubstantial as dreams could possess such potential…"

"Onee-chan?" Hikari asked, concern etched in her young features.

"Ah, forgive me. I lost myself for a moment." She said, holding a palm to her forehead. "I'm alright now, really."

Regarding her slowly, Ena stood back and let the recovered Hime-Miko regain some semblance of dignity. Yuri responded with a silent but grateful nod, and turned to Kazuto directly.

"Your Highness, the authority you gained from Morpheus appeared to me in the effigy of a curling triskelion of shifting golden light, with each arm possessing an aspect, much like the Seventh Campione's 'Ten Incarnations' Authority possesses ten different aspects that can be used. The authority's element was… nebulous, at best. I cannot say if it be Earth, Steel, Fire, or something else entirely, though I admittedly suspect the latter. I can grasp a vague hint at the capabilities of the authority's aspects, but beyond that it eludes my sight. Strange… it was like staring at a mirage in a desert. Every time I focused, the image became more indistinct. Even then…" she added, her voice quieting substantially "they felt so vast, so flexible in comparison to most of the authorities I've seen. Powerful, yet not born of destruction, merely capable of it."

"Strange indeed." Amakasu murmured, meshing his fingers in a way that brought to Kazuto far to many images of Gendo Ikari. Figures he'd end up paying for watching Neon Genesis Evangelion back a few months before the SAO incident. "Perhaps it is the nature of his authority? Morpheus was a god of dreams, and dreams have ever proven difficult to interpret. Might that extend to any authorities gained by his killer?"

"Perhaps…" she accepted, only for Kazuto to shrug.

"It's not that important really. I'm glad you got as much as you did. If you have any suggestions for me about how to understand them more myself though, I'd appreciate it."

"Normally a campione is reborn with an innate knowledge of their authorities. It's unusual that you do not."

"It's not like I can't feel them at all." Kazuto said softly. "I can, if I try. I've been able to do that much since the incident in the dojo. I can even hear the words of the… aria did you call it? I can hear the words of the arias like whispers in my head, and I know somehow that if I recited them I'd know everything I needed, but those whispers are just that: whispers. I can only make out fragments of a given one at a time, and that's if I focus on a specific voice."

"I'm hardly qualified to given advice to a Campione regarding their powers," Kaoru spoke up, "but historically campione have always first awakened their powers in a moment of conflict." Seeing Kirito's distinctly unfavorable expression, she wisely continued onwards. "Barring that, I'd say your best option is to meditate, and experiment regarding these voices yourself until you can fully awaken the power you've claimed. In the meantime, we can at least delay the various magic organizations from becoming to pushy, and the presence of the Seventh Campione may distract heretic gods away from you, which will give you time to secure yourself against threats."

"I thought Campione didn't share territories?" Kazuto asked after a thoughtful pause.

"Normally that's true," Yuri replied, "but we could hardly be so uncouth or foolish as to ask a Japanese citizen to leave the country for such. It is concerning that you both make your homes in the same city, however. Other than that, we have the problem that as the Seventh Campione has already claimed Japan as his territory in deed if not word… he would be within his right to evict you himself."

At the Eighth Campione's rather off put expression, Ena giggled and waved her hand to put him at ease. "Oh don't worry, Godou-sama* would never do such a thing to a fellow countryman. If anything, he may view you as an older brother."

"That's a relief. Hmm… from your prior statement, I assume all Campione claim a territory of some kind? Could you explain?"

"Certainly." Amakasu replied, nodding to Hikari who rushed over to a wall, one of the sliding doors of the dojo in fact, and flung it open. The scruffy man smiled and rose, sweeping his arm in a grand gesture out over the sprawling expanse of Tokyo.

"Campione are often known for laying down for themselves a territory, or region over which they possess dominion. This area is effectively under their protection from divine threats and the predations of other campione, and the magical organizations of that region typically either relocate or pledge themselves to that campione's service in exchange for their aid. A campione's dominion isn't necessarily legally or publicly acknowledged, or in fact even known by those not connected in some way to magic, but it remains sovereign in the world of magic. Often, Campione will decide their territory in part based on the offerings of the magical associations that approach them."

"Which is why they fall over themselves to give them whatever they want, be it money or land or people to work for them."

"Exactly. Now, Campione territories vary in size and are sometimes nebulous, especially as no mortal magician can deter them if they chose to go somewhere. It matters less than you'd think in the long term because most campione — save our own Godou Kusanagi and perhaps John Pluto Smith of America and Aisha of the Middle East — will leap to hunt down any heretic god they discover for the sake of acquiring more authorities, the sport of a battle they can feel to be with an equal, or any other number of reasons."

"I see. I can assume, then, that I will eventually have to select a territory of my own?"

"That is for you to decide, but I can promise you that regardless of if you do or not, you will eventually be beset with magical associations vying for your favour, or possibly sending assassins to test the truth of your divinity, have you not proven it sufficiently when they learn of you. For now, the HCC is doing everything they can to censor the knowledge of your existence to save you these problems, as we felt that until you had sufficiently recovered from your trials in Morpheus's domain and were ready to enter the hidden world of magic, you deserved at least respite for your heroism in saving so many lives."

"So, it's because I'm a campione that you're doing this?"

"We wouldn't have to do it if you weren't a devil king, but no. Allay your fears of any ulterior motives from those of us in this room your highness. While I cannot speak for the whole of the History Compilation Committee, I would have done this much for you at least your being a fellow countryman and a hero, albeit one so appallingly unsung."

Kazuto relaxed slightly, a faint smile reaching his lips. That was good. He wasn't ready to be a magical celebrity yet… not now, and maybe not ever. As fun as it might be, he hated the thought of people supplicating themselves before him. He was still in highschool blast it!

"That's good. To be honest, I don't think I could deal with something like that yet. Not until I've settled with everything left over from SAO."

"Perhaps we can help?"

"Eh?"

Kazuto and the others owlishly turned to the younger Mariya sibling, who smiled cheerily. "We can help you get your Shiro-Hime!* The HCC has a lot of power and connections in the government, and that could help us find out who or what is behind it all! Then you come in with your sword and slice him up real good for stealing your Okusan!"

"Hikari!" Yuri cried again, more in shock than horror at the thought of the raven-haired teen in front of them taking a sword to someone. He was a campione after all, and in a secret part of her, she would have expected Godou to do about the same thing such a fate befall her, not that he hadn't already driven off Volban from taking her once already.

Kazuto smiled, and patted the excitable, brilliant little hime-miko to be affectionately. "I'd like that Hikari. You find the guy, and I'll go beat him up real good for you okay? You can be the great detective to solve the case of the sleeping princess, and I can be the hero that saves the day."

Hikari's grin could hardly get bigger. "I'll get right on it!"

Yuri's frown in that moment could vaguely be likened to that of Auguste Rodin's classical renaissance piece, 'thinker.' "I'm not so sure…"

"It's okay Yuri, I'll stick with her." Ena volunteered happily. "Godou's been wanting to spend some time with his sister, so this will give me something to do besides train. You don't have to worry about her getting hurt while I'm around."

Yuri paused. As much as she wanted to say otherwise, that was true. Ena was the most powerful Hime-Miko in Tokyo — possibly the world — with her divine possession ability. Thanks a ritual a few months back, she could even summon a perfect replica of the Grasscutter Sword, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi in all it's glory as a lesser god. Nothing short of a campione or a heretic could even phase her, and she'd sooner die than let Hikari get hurt.

It was hard to argue with that, even if it would have been much more reassuring if said volunteer had acted less like an uppity teenage girl when she said it.

What was she saying? Ena _was_ an uppity teenage girl. Even in facing battles against gods and alongside godslayers, she was an uppity teenage girl!

…

Still not the best line of thought there.

"I will do what I can to supervise miss Mariya as well." Amakasu put in. "It is the least we can do for someone who saved over six thousand lives."

"I…" Kazuto began, but realizing that voicing his feelings regarding what he considered his failure, even if to the greater world it was unarguably a great act of heriosm, wouldn't change a thing stopped and simply sighed. "Well, thanks."

"You're welcome your highness!" Ena chirped. "Ask us for anything! Well-" she paused, looking thoughtful, " **almost**  anything. After all, Yuri and I are Godou-sama's. Hikari wanted to be as well, but she's far to young."

"W-What are you saying!? To say it like that…!"

"Miss Mariya, please calm down." Kaoru said softly. "Ena, please remember your etiquette in the presence of a campione."

"Ah, forgive us your highness." Yuri added with a mournful sigh, a chastened expression on her features. "Godou-sama is a great campione, indeed this is true, but he possesses a flaw most horrible. He is a heinous womanizer. Ena and I are both maidens who have pledged everything we are to him, and besides us he has ensorcelled two knights of the Italian magical organizations, Erica Blandelli the Red Devil of the Copper Black Cross, and Liliana Kranjcar of the Bronze-Black Cross," _'and Hikari'_  she thought with some concern "amongst a number of other women with his charms. Lucretia Zola, the Witch of Sardina, has also claimed to be a mistress of his, though for now it seems mostly a declaration of intent."

"It is not an entirely new thing, mind you." Kaoru stated flatly. "Male Campione in the past have been believed to be similar, taking either numerous lovers or even a great many wives, to the point of having vast harems of nubile maidens beyond his own ability to utilize, and some female campione may have done the reverse, history is hazy on that point. Even those Campione that did not claim multiple lovers at once typically remarried or took another lover many times over their Olympian lifespan, for an eternity alone was something… dangerously unbalancing to them.

I would not be surprised if the magical organizations of those times supplied lovers to their masters simply to keep them from degrading into more terrible foes than the heretic gods they fought. Heretic gods are at least semi-predictably to their legends and egos, as well as their goals. A rampaging campione driven mad by grief or loneliness, especially one of great age with many authorities, would destroy everything in their path. An apocalypse given flesh."

"No. All those things are understandable, considering the situation and culture of those times." Yuri said, looking forlorn. "What makes Godou-sama such a terrible person is that he seems to never be content o-or willing to take responsibility. Already he has a pledged wife and three mistresses, all of them both incredibly b-beautiful-" here, Yuri blushed like a tomato "and prodigies in the magical realm who have proclaimed their love, yet he continues to draw other women in with his charms as if our oaths mean nothing or our love is so shallow…" she trailed off, turning away from their assembly. Kaoru's visage was emotionless, though the rest all had their faces marred by frowns.

Kazuto was silent for a long moment. "That's so terrible…" he whispered, "To love and not see your love returned… you've felt this burden for some time now haven't you Yuri-san?"

"Y-yeah…" Yuri choked out, refusing to cry. She'd already committed a grievance

Silence, then Kazuto spoke again. "Does he ever seem… oblivious? Like in spite of everything you've done to declare your love to him, it simply doesn't register in his head?"

"Y-yes. How did you…?"

"And when he charms other women… does he seek them out and seduce them, or do they kind of… fall into his lap? Like the devil's luck or fate has it out for him?"

"Hmm… That is how he met Erica." Ena supplied with a contemplative murmur. "Are you looking for a pattern?"

"Of sorts."was the noncommittal reply.

Ena looked to Yuri, who stiffly nodded her affirmation to continue. As risky and potentially unwise as it might be for another campione to be told such personal things, things she has not told even her own campione, she'd seen much in that brief glimpse of spirit vision, and

"Well…many of us fell in love with him in battles with heretic gods or campione, but knew each other beforehand. Erica and Liliana received their swords together, Liliana was present with Yuri when Volban attempted to summon a heretic god to fight using the power of hime mikos and witches, and I myself am a childhood friend of Yuri's. He saved Yuri from the Campoine Sasha Dejlani Volban at considerable personal risk to himself, as he did Hikari from her possession by Sun Wukong and Ena from her possession by the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. Erica he saved in a similar, less personal matter as he was the one who slew Verenthraga and thus drove off Melquart, and Liliana fought alongside him battling Perseus. I would not be surprised if he saved her from that particular heretic god's ability to ensorcell women."

"I see…" Kazuto whispers, mumbling something unintelligible to the ears of the others present before pulling a grin and shaking his head. "I would not worry Mariya-san. If I'm right, you will receive your happy ending eventually."

"How can you say that with such certainty just from that…?"

Kazuto smirked. "Far to much time immersed in popular culture. The internet does that."

"Eh?" came the stereo response from the two premier hime-miko.

He looked from one to the other, a mildly appalled expression forming on his face. "You don't know what the internet is…?"

"We have heard of it vaguely, even used it at school, but…" Yuri said, unable to meet his disbelieving gaze.

Hikari brightened slightly, pipping up with: "Ah! My friends were telling me about that! The world wide web right? An interconnected data network used to digitally carry messages and store and retrieve information from across the planet? SAO used it."

The other hime-miko regarded Hikari with a ponderous eye, but Kazuto seemed, if anything, relieved and nodded. "That's right, the internet is a digital network used for all those things, though it has as many uses in the areas of entertainment as it does in it's original function these days, probably more. You can never tell with the internet, it's just too big to be fully catalogued. Sure you **could** , but it would take a lot of time and a lot of people, unless you cheated and used a program of some kind. Even if you did though, there would just be to much to go over to really review it all. There are hundreds of thousands of games on the internet, of which Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Games, or VRMMOs, are only the newest and smallest. On the internet you can watch movies, discuss in realtime with people on the far side of the planet, read anything from statistics to up to the minute news to public opinions… the list goes on almost endlessly. Some people use the internet as a virtual gallery to display their artwork even."

"Sugoi*…!"

"To think such a recently developed technology could be so immensely useful and flexible…"

"Um, sorry, but how is the computer "recently developed?" It could be said to have existed since the days of the abacus, or at least since Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine of from the mid to late nineteen hundreds. The electrical computer proper appeared more than half a century ago, and the internet in proper around 1995. That's not really 'recent'…"

"Magical associations think in longer terms your highness. To you recent might be within a year or two, but to use the word typically covers anything within several decades to a full century. To us, the internet is still rather new, though not as much as cellular phones. Many simply don't find the time to use it as much of magic's mysteries lies more in the past; in books and relics and ruins of the old days, rather than behind a computer screen. Yuri herself only got a cellphone earlier this year, after the seventh campione impressed upon her the value of wireless communication capability."

"I see…"

"U-wah!* Hikari wants to learn the ways of the internet too! It sounds fun!"

 _"Hikari."_  Yuri groaned, exasperated by her excitable younger sister's enthusiasm.

"Actually, Miss Hikari may have a good idea there, even if her thoughts on it's potential applications are a bit… sparse." Amakasu said, casting an amused glance her way that left the brunette with a rosy powder to her cheeks.

"Eh?"

"While it's true Magical associations possess considerable power" Amakasu continued, disregarding Yuri's confused expression "The fact that magic is so deeply tied to the past, and often that information can only be extracted from ancient tomes, ruins, and the like — as well as the fact that tradition is foundational to all those affiliated with magic — leaves us rather reluctant to embrace modern technology like cell phones and computers. Any of the more public members of the magical world use them, but only modestly. I think that it would be good for at least one of our hime miko to fully embrace the technology and see what benefits it might to her duties… provided it does not prevent her from keeping her traditions."

"Well, the best option would probably be to enroll in one of those college courses teaching computer ed."

"That might not be the best idea." Kaoru supplied with a thoughtful _'hmmm.'_ "Hikari is below the suitable age for such classes."

"Then maybe a private tutor?"

"That would likely be a more viable option, though it begs the question of who would be acceptable for all parties involved to teach an apprentice hime-miko?"

"Ano,* ah…" Ena began with a curious expression on her face. "Would it be alright for his highness to teach her?"

"Eh?!"

"hmm… she does have a point. If Heretics start using the internet and VRMMOs as a medium to effect the physical world like Morpheus, we will need to learn how to handle that environment to manage damage control and to aid campione in dealing with them. Eventually, magi will certainly discover it's usefulness for illicit dealings as well. This is something that should not be forestalled, and as only one individual can claim connections to the magical world to match their knowledge of the internet, who better to do the deed than a campione…? Even so," he sighed, grimacing. "It would be foolish to ask anything of a campione, even one so newborn as you your highness."

"It's not that I'm averse to the idea" Kazuto began "it's just that… what with everything being so strange right now and my promise to Asuna…" It was Kaoru who spoke up next, maintaining a level, respectful tone.

"Perhaps we could offer an exchange? A business arrangement of sorts? We have already pledged our resources to helping you awaken your sleeping love and the others still sleeping, but as this is more of a legal precedent, would you consider taking this duty as a commission following the situation's resolution?"

"What, like as a job?"

"Yes, something along the lines of a civilian consultant, contractor, or private tutor. You would be paid well for your time, and if you find the situation satisfactory you could take further jobs from the HCC or other branches of the government."

"Something for later, I would think." Amakasu says. "As you said your highness said, Asuna-sama's* well being comes first."

"Later then."

"Certainly. I'll have the HCC look into things on the completion of the meeting."

"Very well then." Kazuto said. "I believe our arrangement was that once you answered my questions, I'd answer yours."

Amakasu nodded.

"Well, I suppose you already know my history from before the incident, so guess the story begins on that day. I'd been selected as a beta tester for the prototype VRMMO game, Sword Art Online. So I was one of the lucky few guaranteed a spot in the opening pool of 10,000 players. I logged in…"

* * *

After many questions and as compressed a reiteration of the events inside Aincrad during the SAO incident, the meeting came to a close and Kazuto rose, bowing respectfully. Farewells, a few warnings regarding things connected to magic and such, and a "Hey Kazuto-san, when you get a hang on your authorities let's spar some time!" from Ena, followed before Amakasu walked Kazuto back to the lobby, and let the boy out to head home.

"Goodbye Kazuto-sama." He said, smiling. "You have my number if you have anything you need, and be sure we'll contact you if anything of note occurs."

"Okay. See you later Amakasu-san*"

The sun had indeed come to rest almost on the horizon as it was wont to do earlier in winter months, and a soft chill gripped the air though it was only late afternoon. Kazuto flipped up the cuff of his jacket, and headed home.

Upstairs in that quaint meeting room, the assembled Hime-Miko of the Historical Compilation Committee sat in silence, pondering the grand tale they'd been told.

"It's amazing isn't it? His story." Ena muttered.

"Quite the astounding tale." Kaoru agreed, looking pensive.

"That a Heretic God would actually seek to create a Campione with his death; to think that Morpheus would go to such lengths…"

"But that just makes Kirigaya-san that much more impressive right?" Hikari pipped up, looking at Yuri. "He didn't just slay a heretic god as a mortal, he slew a heretic god with his own authority, inside his own divine space, after impressing that god well enough to fight him on an equal level!"

"True, no mortal has ever become a campione in this manner before." Kaoru replied "That the manner in which he did may have effected his authorities is… mildly disconcerting, but not totally unsurprising. I worry more of the future of Japan, with two Campione sharing it as their home."

"Maybe" Ena agreed "but I think that they might work well together. Neither wants to claim official dominion over Japan, and Kazuto-sama seems rather benign, for a campione."

"That may be," Kaoru said "but from what I've seen and heard, Kusanagi-sama is the same until he finds himself fighting a heretic god. Who is to say that Kirigaya-sama is not the same? Calm and ordinary, unless pushed. At least we know what Kusanagi-sama's triggers are. Kirigaya-sama remains a mystery."

"Not entirely." Yuri countered with a soft voice. "Kirigaya-sama has already revealed one: Threats to those he cares about. He fought a heretic god to save the lives of thousands including his friends and his love from the threat of an impending death inside Aincrad. I shudder to think what would happen if someone actually hurt one of his loved ones."

Everyone was silent for a moment as that wonderful image shuddered through their heads.

"In that case, we'd best do what we can to help him wake up his wife. Hikari will be spending time with him in the future, and that should give us insight on him as well as keep him in our good graces. Kusanagi-sama will need to be informed of this development, and I leave that to you." Kaoru said, standing in a single smooth motion and striding for the door. Opening it, she paused and twisted to cast a long glance at Yuri and Ena. "Also, while you are now answerable only to Godou and beyond my ability to reprimand, I must remind you with the utmost severity that as surprising as it may be, it is an unseemly breach of decorum to allow yourselves to so lose your composure in a meeting, let alone discuss such personal matters and your feelings regarding another campione in the presence of Kirigaya-sama. See that it does not happen again."

Then she was gone. Ena and Yuri sighed and slumped, knowing all to well how foolish their words had been in that moment, and remained silent. Hikari took one look between them and grinned, not caring about decorum in the peace of the dojo-like room. "So! I was thinking that King Kirigaya needs a title. Any ideas?"

* * *

**Glossary**

Shiro-Hime: Literally "white princess."

Sugoi: Literally "amazing" after translating the sounds produced by the Japanese pronunciation of the word into english.

U-wah: A meaningless exclamation.

Ano: Another meaningless exclamation, this one vaguely analogous to the english "ah" or "um."

-sama: a Japanese Honorific used to denote a great amount of respect to someone of a much higher social rank than the user, be it a host to a guest, a store owner to a customer, an employee to a boss, or even a mortal to a god.

-san: The most common Japanese honorific, — san indicates a status of equality regardless of age and is used as a sign of respect.

* * *

_ Divine Authority Briefing _

** Kirito **

**[Perchance to Dream]**

**[Perchance to Dream: Dreamwalker]**

-See Chapter 2 for a complete reiteration of the authority-

Status:

Having now discovered the Aria for Dreamwalker, Kirito has gained the ability to, with the use of the aria, view the dreams of a person sleeping within eyesight as if they are playing on a TV screen in front of him.

Kirito's body has now adapted enough to completely astralize his body with the use of the aria and enter the dreams of nearby a sleeping individual. He may use this authority freely, with the caveat that any damage taken while in astral form is mirrored when he returns to physical form. At this time, Kirito's Astral Form possesses greatly reduced magical resistance to his body.

**[Perchance to Dream: World Seed]**

-See Chapter 2 for a complete reiteration of the Authority-

Status:

Having now discovered the Aria for World Seed, Kirito is capable of using World Seed to a much greater effect. With the use of the Aria, Kirito is now capable of limitedly shaping and imbuing his divine authority and other magics into digital code, and the ability to visualize a divine authority he sees in a digital form, as if it were a unique skill in an MMO broken down into it's code before his eyes.

Passively, Kirito's instinctive comprehension of digital coding, and a subconscious capacity with such coding as regards to writing, hacking, and otherwise working with it has been improved to the point that he could potentially create a crude grimoire or write/invent a spell using the format of digital code.

**[Perchance to Dream: Waking Dream]**

-See Chapter 2 for a complete Reiteration of the authority-

Status:

Having now discovered the Aria for Waking Dream, Kirito is capable of using the authority consciously and at a much more efficient AMS rate. His Anima Pool has also grown slightly, and his Anima Regen has increased exponentially. As a result, he is now theoretically capable of maintaining a twenty-meter diameter divine space for exactly 45 seconds.

Anima Pool: 22,500

Partial Manifestation Anima per second for five specific skills/attributes: 20 (40)

Default AMS: 50 (110)

Reality Marble AMS: 120 (250)

Anima regenerated per second: 7.8125 (8 hours to full pool recovery)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man this one feels like it took longer than the others. Is it just me? I did get distracted with timelining a bunch of other potential fics (if you ask nicely, maybe I'll link you to them!) but even so…
> 
> As a minor note, I want to apologize to anyone being confused or bothered by my random use of Japanese words. It's a foible of mine to write in such a manner, and I can't really help it. Sorry about that. I think a part of it is that I can't imagine them not speaking Japanese at least a bit, and another is that I like to add a little practical information into my stories. There! Now you know what the glossary is for!
> 
> Sorry everyone! I wanted to get into ALO already, but this chapter just kept running on and on and on. I'll probably tie up things like introducing Sugou, the picture, suguha noticing her bro's acting funny, and jumping into ALO itself; maybe some of the initial scenes past that as well in the next chapter.
> 
> Well, I'd say Kazuto got those answers he wanted and more besides! Sorry this filler is so much dialogue, but it felt necessary both to flesh out the world a bit and the characters as well, while working in some potential plot points for later. I hope you enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> Grammar edit as of 12/7/13.
> 
> Minor secondary edit 1/18/14
> 
> And now Crown of Dreams has finally come to AO3! Sorry it took me so long, but I have to admit the posting system this site uses and the confusion with all the tags bugs me something awful. Thank my dear friend Reinforce Eins (AKA Aberro) for creating the Gdocs to HTML converter needed for me to get off my arse and post it.  
> Thank you for your reviews and we appreciate your patronage. Do forgive our difficulty in maintaining a predictably release schedule.


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